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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24615826">Keep Our Heads Above The Deep</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliomina/pseuds/ameliomina'>ameliomina</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Above the Deep (Luke Lived AU) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>ANF Luke, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with an Angsty Ending, Bi Luke, Branding, Brother-Sister Relationships, F/M, Luke lived AU, Luke lives AU basically, Luke lives through S3, Luke vs Kenny AU, M/M, NOT c/l/u/k/e gross, Stillbirth, Strangulation tw, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, c/l/u/k/e shippers do not interact, edgy clem, implied PTSD, it's about luke and clementine's relationship mostly, mild heterosexual sex, non-intrusive ocs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:48:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>105,254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24615826</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliomina/pseuds/ameliomina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe if he had time to catch a breath, he wouldn’t have to feel the algid water flood into his lungs with his desperate gasps. Maybe if his leg hadn’t been shot, he would be able to kick this lurker down. Maybe if he hadn’t been walking for three days straight, he would have the strength to fight. Luke looked upward, getting one last look at the light, and one silent goodbye to Clementine.</p><p>But Clementine wasn’t ready to say goodbye. That young girl, in all her stupid bravery, had swum down into the dark, freezing water. She kicked at the walker, and Luke pulled on her jacket. He wanted to tell her to stop; to go up. Breathe again. She was too young to drown with him.</p><hr/><p>( "Luke lives" AU where Clementine manages to save him from the lake. We get a Luke vs Kenny Showdown and he is instrumental in the New Frontier and all of season 3. He and Clementine's relationship is the main focus of the story. What happens between S2 and S3 is also explored in depth. )</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>AJ | Alvin Jr. &amp; Clementine (Walking Dead), AJ | Alvin Jr. &amp; Luke, Clementine &amp; Jane (Walking Dead: No Going Back), Clementine &amp; Luke (Walking Dead: All That Remains), David García &amp; Gabriel García &amp; Javier García &amp; Kate García &amp; Mariana García, David García/Kate García, Jane (Walking Dead: No Going Back)/Luke (Walking Dead: All That Remains), Javier García &amp; Kate García (Walking Dead), Javier García/Luke (Walking Dead: All That Remains), Luke/Nick (Walking Dead: All That Remains)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Above the Deep (Luke Lived AU) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>152</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Better to Sleep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello! So this is the first time i've written a fanfiction since 2014, but quarantine has got me obsessed with twdg again. dark times call for old vices.</p><p>when re-doing S2, i fell in love with luke all over again. idk what it is, but I really fell for this character and his relationship with clementine. his death at the lake was poorly written bull, and since he first met kenny it was clear there was supposed to be a kenny vs luke storyline, which was then replaced with jane for some unclear ill-developed reason.</p><p>i've come up with some different game/story branches where clem is able to save him from the lake, and the fight at the tourist trap has new endings that account for he and jane's survival. i'll explain major player choices in the notes when they happen, but ultimately i'm writing just one branch.</p><p>in this branch clementine saves luke from the lake, kills kenny, and goes with luke and jane to howe's. it's a character exploration into jane and luke, as well as their relationships to clementine, aj, each other, and people who have died.</p><p>this story does go on though S3, where luke will play a part as a (spoiler) leader of the ANF. what happened with aj and why clementine left him will be revealed in the story later on. depending on player as javier's actions, he may live through S3 or not. if he does live, luke and javier begin a relationship bc this is my story and i think they would be good for each other.</p><p>please stick around! lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luke heard the ice splinter under him before he looked down. The subdued squeal, a low cracking. The ice beneath him became too fragile to move on, yet too risky to stay still. Luke kept his eyes on the ground, he looked for a way out, a place to step his leaden legs that could hold his weight without pulling him under. Not seconds after, Bonnie was searching well.</p><p>“Don’t come over here,” Luke warned, his eyes stayed down as he warned the approaching redhead. “Okay, I-I can make it. It’s fine.” Another crack split the ice further.</p><p>“You sure?” The fear in her voice was evident, the disbelief more.</p><p>“Yeah,” Luke cast his eyes behind him. Lurkers. Of course.</p><p>“You got walkers on the way, let me help you,” Bonnie took another desperate step forward, the young girl to her left watched intently.</p><p>“It’s too thin for both of us. I just...I just gotta be caref-” It’s warning unheeded, the ice beneath him opened up, now trying to swallow him. His injured leg was soon enveloped by the freezing water, the painful sting of his gunshot wound was now matched by the icy burn spread down the whole limb.</p><p>“Luke! No!” Bonnie and Clementine ran forward, their footsteps pounding the thin ice closer and closer each step they took, until stopped by Luke’s demand.</p><p>“Stop! Stop,” he placed his hands on the pads of ice, pressing down with enough force to keep him from falling in, but not enough to pull out. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He looked out at the two coming to his aid, who were more desperate to save him than to figure out how.</p><p>“No, you’re not!”</p><p>“I just gotta pull myself out...”</p><p>Clementine cried out, but her protests couldn’t convince ice to reform.</p><p>“The ice is too thin...I got it...”</p><p>The cold wind retained no pauses, the approaching lurkers had no respect needed patience. Pressed by time and tension, Bonnie pleaded to the little girl to help Luke. “You need to help!” She looked to the eleven year old, “Clem, go! Go help him!”</p><p>“No!” Luke yelled to her, “You’re gonna fall through.”</p><p>“Clem, just go back for him. You’re light, you can do it-”</p><p>“Stop telling her that!” Luke looked at Clementine, speaking to her directly. Bonnie wouldn’t listen, he knew Clem could. “Clem! Look at me. Pull out your gun, and shoot those damn walkers, okay? Just give me a little time...”</p><p>Bonnie didn’t heed his pleas. The threat of the ice cracking further seemed detached from weight, walker or child, she pleaded for Clem to go again. “Clem, you can make it. But you need to go, now!”</p><p>Clementine, pushed around by the whims of wind and adults, took her tentative steps forward. Mike and Kenny, then near the shore, yelled after her, but she only kept her eyes on the man clinging into the ice.</p><p>“Just go back, please-” Luke pleaded once again. More time, he just needed more time. Not for her to drown with him too.</p><p>“I got you!” Her young voice was scared, it trembled as she did in the cold. “It’s gonna be alright!” Had it struck her that things never were? Had it struck him that he had told her the same?</p><p>Luke reached his hand out for hers. Before they could touch, the skin on his face had hit the water. Clementine misstepped. The ice was broken, and underneath he had thrashed to see the light, eyes opened and embraced by the freezing water.</p><p>Clementine struggled as well. She pounded on the ice above her, before a walker latched onto her below. Struggling against the pull of the lake and the pull of the corpse, she kicked it off of her, and on her way out the opening, another accosted her.</p><p>Luke gained his bearings, and wrestled it from behind. It’s growls had become gargles there in the deep. Sounds became disorientating, sloshing in the water with his own bubbled breaths escaping him. He swam up, but the girl watched in horror as the dead weight became an anchor to pull him down.</p><p>Maybe if he had time to catch a breath, he wouldn’t have to feel the algid water flood into his lungs with his desperate gasps. Maybe if his leg hadn’t been shot, he would be able to kick this lurker down. Maybe if he hadn’t been walking for three days straight, he would have the strength to fight. Luke looked upward, getting one last look at the light, and one silent goodbye to Clementine.</p><p>But Clementine wasn’t ready to say goodbye. That young girl, in all her stupid bravery, had swum down into the dark, freezing water. She kicked at the walker, and Luke pulled on her jacket. He wanted to tell her to stop; to go up. Breathe again. She was too young to drown with him…</p><p>The next thing he felt was cold, dead fingers peeled off his ankle, and little hands along his arm pulling him up. Luke swam up, but the higher he got the fainter he felt, the more swimming felt like floating.</p><p>Strong arms would pull them out of the deep. Mike and Jane had rushed over, Bonnie had hesitated and moved backwards, Kenny would stay with the baby by the shore, half his attention was yelling at them to save the two, the other half balled in a fist at the frail Russian.</p><p>“Oh, thank god!” Bonnie cried, she fell to her knees on the ice. The last dreadful quiet minute she had spent in regret and fear for their lives was over.</p><p>Clementine’s little body was coughing and gasping up onto the ice. Despite shaking like a leaf, she managed to turn her head and get a look at Luke. She told him she would come back for him… “L-Luke-”</p><p>“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-” Jane’s voice came through, as did her fear. “Oh fuck, she’s gonna fucking freeze to death!” Jane scooped Clementine up, and ran to the shore. “Come on, you’re gonna be okay.” She spoke to Bonnie, ”Go to the house, we need a fire!”</p><p>Bonnie, with a second look back, ran to the half-built shelter.</p><p>“Come on, man,” Mike’s words had kept calm, but the panic was building. Luke hadn’t moved.</p><p>He pushed the man onto his side, and patted his back, waiting for something to come.</p><p>Eventually, the man began coughing. The water held in his lungs poured out, some of what had been choking him was now free. His eyes were not yet open. Mike, though he struggled, carried Luke in slowly on his back to the house. The man’s freezing, wet body was barely breathing, he could feel the weak rise of his chest. He had too much water in his lungs.</p><p>“Get the kid.” Kenny yelled at the shore. As Clementine was carried into the house, he would run in too, casting a look at Mike and Luke on the ice. “Cum’on, Mike, hurry!”</p><p>“Fuck, man, I’m trying!” Mike yelled back.</p><p>The remains of their group hurried to start a fire, Clementine was conscious now and huddled by the exposed fireplace, her soaked jacket gone. Mike would come in and place Luke on the ground, he checked his breath again. For a second all they could hear was his faint wheezing breaths, Clementine’s shivering, the strikes of a match, and the cold, dry wind blow.</p><p>The next second, Bonnie was on the floor, her hands on Luke’s chest and pumping compressions. Where she had learned CPR no one knew, but none would stop her lone attempt.</p><p>Jane stripped Clementine’s soaked coat off of her, “We have to get her warm, she’s gonna freeze to death!” Jane saw the empty fireplace, and ran off behind the wall. There had to be firewood, paper, something to burn out here. She needed to get her warm, to get Luke warm. If Bonnie could get him breathing.</p><p>“We should have gone around, we should have gone around-” Mike voiced his regrets, watching Bonnie as she tried to get air into Luke’s lungs.</p><p>The girl was freezing, teeth-chattering, but still able to keep her eyes open. Those hazel eyes were fixated on Luke and Bonnie, waiting for him to wake up. Why hadn’t he woken up yet? She wanted to call his name, but the cold had its grip on her throat, only shivering groans and gasps made it out of her lips.</p><p>Kenny stewed up by the door, walking back and forth with the babe in his arms. He came over to set him down in a box near the fireplace, and saw Clem’s poor condition. The old fire within him had begun to catch flames once again. Reckless flames, ones that scorched and sparked rather than warmed. His anger brewed more, and as he looked up the frail figure of that Russian gained his ire.</p><p>“You son of a bitch! This is your fuckin fault-” he charged over to Arvo.</p><p>“Kenny. Don’t, man.” Mike stepped in.</p><p>“Don’t WHAT?”</p><p>“It’s nobody’s damn fault.” He was exhausted, they all were. Why did Kenny still have the energy in him to fight?</p><p>Kenny remained consistent in his anger, “Look at this place, just a stack of damn toothpicks.” Kenny scoffed, “Look at this place, just a stack of damn toothpicks. Bet those magical “supplies” are bullshit too. What? No “speaka de English?”</p><p>Foolishly, the Russian engaged. He met Kenny’s eyes with his own defiant rage. “Fuck you.”</p><p>“You fucking commie piece of shit!” Kenny smacked Arvo to the ground, soon on top of him in a sick parallel to Bonnie.</p><p>Bonnie pounded Luke’s chest, re-shattered his already broken ribs, and brutally breathed into his unaccepting lungs. Desperately doing what she could. Kenny? Kenny was just doing what the rest in this world came to. He pounded into the side of the teen, and his glasses had shattered upon his cheek.</p><p>In a shivered but unshakable tone, Clementine gained her voice again. “Kenny, stop! Just stop...”</p><p>A pause, a harsh one-eyed glare. “What? You lose your taste for this sorta thing?”</p><p>Clementine flinched.</p><p>“What did you do to him?” Jane came back into the room, followed by a thud on the ground. A dufflebag, heavy. She brought herself to put some kindling in the fire. “There’s another just like it. He wasn’t lying.”</p><p>Out from the bag rolled a single can to Kenny’s feet. “Wanna tell me how a can of fuckin’ chili is gonna help a baby?”</p><p>“How is beating a kid to death gonna help ANYONE!” Jane yelled back at him. The group’s tempers were all as stable as the ice out there.</p><p>From Luke's throat came a choked sound, then a gargle. Bonnie, tears and sweat freezing on her face, rolled him to his side and pat his back hard. Jane knelt down with her, the rest all had their eyes. The water had lost the claim it held on him, it spilled out of his mouth and onto the floor, the coughing followed to the air.</p><p>“Oh God, oh thank God!” Bonnie nearly sobbed, a similar relief came over the rest of the group.</p><p>“Mike! Start a fire,” Jane tossed Mike her lighter, and the man quickly obliged.</p><p>“Luke!” Clem came to the ground as well, she sat next to him waiting for the coughing to stop. It didn’t stop for a while, his eyes opened before that. He was alive. Luke didn’t believe it, but he was alive.</p><p>Kenny watched, although relieved the young man had lived, he was still more concerned for the children he had taken into his care. And how this world had taught him to protect, he protected.</p><p>“I’m tyin’ him up,” He walked over to Arvo, picked him up by his twig arm, and dragged him to the staircase. He ignored Arvo’s pained yelps. Ties, produced from the dufflebag, he used to tie the Russian to the beams. Far away from the group, and the fire. He would keep them safe.</p><p>“Kenny, that’s enough,” Jane said. Her hands had been patting Luke’s cold, wet back gently, coaxing the breath into him.</p><p>Kenny, tying the yellow cord tight around Arvo’s wrists, didn’t respond. He merely tied him up, then took the baby to a room away from her, from them all.</p><p>“He’s hurt real bad,” Mike said when he had the chance to glance back. He had been sympathetic to Arvo this whole time, and now Kenny was giving me more of a reason to be. The fire caught the kindling, then soon a log. Soon, it could be warm, maybe not soon enough.</p><p>Luke was still on the floor, his coughing now subsided, but his throat too raw to easily speak.</p><p>“Th-Thank you-” He looked up to Bonnie.</p><p>“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Bonnie had now taken off her own coat and placed it over him, he was wet and shivering to the bone. She didn’t want him to get hypothermia.</p><p>Jane now moved over to help Mike with the fire, a smile and glace at Luke now that he was awake. They needed to get him warm, and Clementine as well. The small girl was still freezing sitting by Luke’s side on the floor after helping him sit up. Their backs were pressed to the fireplace, the closest part for warmth.</p><p>They all sat in that quiet for a bit, listening to the fire begin to crackle, and soaking in all the events of the last few moments. Luke and Clementine, in their identical exhaustion, fell asleep rather quickly. Both under the watchful eyes of the group, to make sure that they would wake up.</p>
<hr/><p>“Let me get a look at you kid. Jesus-” Mike spoke to Arvo, but his voice had stirred the young girl across the room awake. “He could’ve killed you. The fuck is wrong with him?”</p><p>In their sleep, it seems someone had placed a single blanket shared over her and Luke. All that they had, likely. Her friend was still asleep, but still breathing. She could accept that.</p><p>“You’re up.” Jane’s voice came from the bench above her, AJ in a box at the end of it. Clem lifted her head more, and gently took the blanket off of her, passing it all off to Luke.</p><p>“Kenny’s out back trying to get some stupid truck started...” Jane shook her head. That man...she didn’t trust him. And the man she maybe did? Still asleep by the fire. She had been keeping eyes on the two while they slept, and eating a can she had heated up by the fire.</p><p>“Here, you should eat something.” Jane passed over what remained off the can to Clementine. A good amount, one the half-starved girl would be full from.</p><p>Across the room, Mike and Arvo were still talking in their hushed voices. Mike was tending to him. As shitty as their group’s day was, Arvo must have had it worse.</p><p>Jane and Clementine sat in silence for a moment. Jane’s gaze settled on Luke’s sleeping face, and he was the subject that broke the silence, “I just...can’t believe he made it. That you made it.”</p><p>Clementine looked between the two again, and nodded. It was hard for her to believe it too. “We’ve all lost so many...I’m glad he wasn’t one of them...”</p><p>Jane sighed, “Me too...”</p><p>She looked off into the fire again, then pinched her nose bridge between her eyes. “I’m glad I came back. If I hadn’t, then maybe he would be...maybe you would be...”</p><p>“Thank you, Clem,” Jane looked at her, but Clementine didn’t understand what she was truly thanking her for. But, in a way, she tremendously did. Every day was easier without another dead or spent alone.</p><p>“I’m gonna find something to clean that up.” Mike spoke at the end of the room, Arvo thanking him in a hushed, scared voice. Leaving the room, Mike uttered to himself what they all felt, “I can’t take this shit anymore.”</p><p>After Mike left the room, Kenny entered it. Looking at Clementine, he asked the girl “Feeling better?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Clem gave one firm nod.</p><p>“Hell of a day,” he shook his head, “But we gotta get moving.” Kenny motioned behind him with his thumb, “If you’re feelin’ up to it, I could use a hand out back with this truck. This house ain’t worth a crap, but the vehicles ain’t in bad shape. With a little luck we can get one fixed up and be outta here by nightfall.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure Kenny.”</p><p>“That’s the spirit, darlin’.” Kenny smiled, “I’ll wait for ya out back.”</p><p>Clementine, before getting up, looked down at AJ. Did she need to bring him? No, Jane answered that.</p><p>“I’ll watch him,” the woman spoke, her eyes over at Kenny. The man walked out a moment after.</p><p>A sense of dread pooled in Jane again, and she spoke to Clem. “Clem. Just, be careful.”</p><p>The girl nodded, then heading out with that man. Jane was left in silence for a moment. Her eyes were not quite sure where to look. Looking at AJ made her feel anxious, and she would not make eye contact with the man made prisoner across the room. Luckily, Luke gave her something to focus on.</p><p>Luke had opened his eyes, though it seemed it was a struggle to see clearly for a moment there. “Jane?” he asked, then followed by coughing.</p><p>“Luke! You’re awake.” Jane smiled, it was good to see him up again.</p><p>Luke looked around, and his face was quite confused as it all started to come back to him. The Russian across the room was now tied up? This house...this was where they were going to. The ice outside, it cracked, he went down. And Clementine-</p><p>“Wait- where’s Clem?” Luke began trying to get up, but winced at the pain in his chest and in his knee.</p><p>“She’s okay, she just went outside with Kenny.” Jane came down to the floor with him and put a hand on his shoulder. “He found some car outside, wants to get it working.”</p><p>As almost a planned confirmation, the distant sound of Kenny’s voice followed by the sound of an engine trying to start carried into the room. Luke turned his head in the direction of the sound, and his body relaxed again. She was okay, they were all okay.</p><p>“Luke? You’re up man?” Mike came in with a smile and a roll of bandage in his hand.</p><p>“Yeah Mike, I’m gonna say that I am.” Luke weakly smiled back at him.</p><p>Mike got down next to Arvo and began cleaning up a wound of his. “Need some of this too?” Mike asked Luke.</p><p>“No, not really. I’m lucky, reckon my injuries are mostly internal.” Luke chuckled, which led to another poorly (if not perfectly) timed cough.</p><p>Luke looked over at Mike and Arvo. Upon further glance, the kid looked busted as hell. Black eye, broken glasses, bruising, Luke didn’t remember him in that rough of a shape. “What the hell happened to ‘im?”</p><p>Mike let out an angry grumble, “Kenny beat the shit into him while you were out.”</p><p><em>“Ublyudok,”</em> Arvo angrily sputtered what seemed to be a confirmation.</p><p>“What?!” Luke furrowed his brow. Like much of the group, he knew Kenny’s behavior was getting increasingly erratic and violent. But this? This had no purpose, no possible justification besides his rage. “That’s-”</p><p>Outside, the sound of the engine sputtered out and was joined by indistinguishable yelling. First, Kenny’s, then Clementine’s seemingly telling him to calm down.</p><p>After a tense pause, Jane spoke up again. “He’s gonna get that girl killed.” Her voice was harsh, condemning, but ultimately held a sense of sad certainty.</p><p>Luke opened his mouth, his pacifist trying to come out again, but closed it. She was right. The way things were going, he knew she was right.</p><p>“If not the rest of us first,” Mike agreed with her, then looked between them all in the room. It seemed almost like a silent recognition between Jane, Mike, and Arvo. An agreement, an intent. One that Luke had to speak up to.</p><p>“We can’t just abandon the guy. Clem wouldn’t let us do that. It ain’t right.” Luke knew the attachment Clementine had to Kenny, and vice versa. She couldn’t be convinced so easily, Kenny wouldn’t let her go either. He knew Kenny was a good guy, or at least used to be, or could be. But, not so deep down, Luke wanted to get her away from him. To get all of them away from him.</p><p>“Worrying about what’s right has gotten too many killed, Luke.” Jane said. “We need to do what's right for her. For AJ. For the rest of us.”</p><p>Luke sighed, he pressed his lips together and turned his head away. He knew, but he couldn’t quite say it yet.</p><p>They listened to the sound outside again. This time, instead of the engine sputtering, it began to roar. Instead of angry yelling, Kenny’s voice sounded excited.</p><p>“Did he really get it started?” Mike got up, he headed for the outside. Jane followed soon after him, but Luke did not.</p><p>He stood up, but one step on his injured leg left him wincing and the pain pounding through him again, he instead sat down on the bench with the baby. “Tell me about it?” he looked to Jane. The woman nodded, and headed out without him.</p><p>Luke listened to the fight outside as he picked up AJ. It seems the truck was working, but Kenny still wanted to send them all on a death march to the promised land, while the rest all had their own ideas of where to go. Luke thought about where they should go next. Somewhere with baby formula, all they had was left in one bottle. Somewhere safe, where they could all lay low for a little bit. Not the cabin. Luke could never go back there. He was the last one left of that group. Him, and, well, AJ.</p><p>“We’re all that’s left, pal.” He said to the baby, bouncing him a bit gently in his arms. He wished Becca was here right now. Or Alvin. Or Sarah, she had been so excited to see the baby. Or Carlos, to make sure AJ would be okay. Or Pete, to tell Luke what to do. Or Nick, just to…</p><p>No. He didn’t want to think about Nick. Not yet, he still needed to just push it all down. He wasn’t, ready to think about Nick yet. His friend of twenty years, his…his <em>something</em> they were never able to say. He couldn’t think about him gone yet. He couldn’t think about him hanging on that fence, head split open. He couldn’t think about how he never got to say goodbye, or I love you. No. He couldn’t think about any of that. Not yet.</p><p>“Luke?”</p><p>Luke looked up, Clementine was back in the doorway with Jane. The girl came to him to sit by him at the bench. “You’re awake.”</p><p>“Yeah, that I am.” Luke smiled at her. “Thanks to you.”</p><p>“And Bonnie.” Clementine said, it was then Luke remembered who’s face he saw when he came to.</p><p>“Right, right...” Luke nodded, his eyes went down, then back up to Jane.</p><p>“I can take him, for a bit.” Jane said, holding her hands out for AJ.</p><p>Luke looked between the baby and Jane, then handed him off to her. It hurt to hold him, just a bit. Troy did a number on his ribs. Jane took AJ off to the other side room, giving him and Clementine some time alone.</p><p>"You saved me, Clem." Luke looked over at the young girl. His voice was hoarse, whether from the drowning or weariness of these past weeks. "...I really thought that was the end there...trapped in the water. I, I really did."</p><p>Luke sighed, and closed his eyes. Goosebumps came over him as he felt the water wash over him again. "And then when I looked up, you were coming down to me. Why, Clem? Why go down for me? That could've been it for you too..."</p><p>Clementine was unsure if Luke had told her she did something wrong. She saved him, at the risk of herself. As so many had done for her, as Luke had before. "I said I'd come back for you. You did for me."</p><p>Luke looked at her once again, and his chest hurt once again. A different pain than his lungs or ribs, one that reminded him of his group. Of his parents. Most of all of his sisters. All of who he could never see again.</p><p>"Yeah, Clem. You did," Luke smiled again, the same cast down, tired smile. "Thank you." </p><p>Luke reached an arm over her small shoulders, and pulled her closer to his side. It was cold here, but for a moment it felt warmer. The girl stiffened at first, but then leaned into him. Just for a moment. Until Kenny walked in again.</p><p>"Kenny?" Clementine straightened her shoulders out again, and Luke moved his arm back to his side in response.</p><p>"Hey, kid. Just fixen' up sumthin to eat." Kenny flashed a sparing number of cans, creamed corn and something or other with the labels peeled off. "Figured since the fire was still burnin' we can treat ourselves to sumthin warm."</p><p>Kenny looked over at Luke while he punched a knife into the rims of the cans. "You're lookin' better."</p><p>"Yeah," Luke said, a hesitant furrow creased his brow. "Still not feelin' better."</p><p>"Well, hope you feel good enough to get in the truck." Kenny pushed the open cans close to the fire, but backed his hands off and winced when he got too close. "I want to get all of us outta here tonight," Kenny cast a look behind him to catch a glance at Arvo, "Well. As much as will fit in the truck."</p><p>"Okay, man, cut that out. We ain't leavin' him here to freeze," Luke shook his head and looked back at Arvo with an apologetic, if not pity-filled, expression. "And tonight? Let people get some sleep first. We're all tired, and...irritable. Rest would do us good."</p><p>"What would do us some 'good' would be finding some formula for the baby. We've got maybe a day's left," Kenny shook his head and looked at the ground. For all his faults, at least everyone here knew Kenny would do anything to protect these children. At least, anything he saw was protecting. </p><p>Luke sighed, he was right. "We should head back to that church across the river. I think it's the closest place to here that could have somethin' for the baby."</p><p>"I think we should hoof it to Wellington," Kenny said. He picked up a piece of wood off the ground and pushed the cans deeper into the fireplace. "We're close. God, we gotta be close. Can't you feel it Clem? And with the truck, we should get there in no time."</p><p>Kenny had his eyes - well, eye - fixed on Clementine, pressuring her that way Luke had seen him do too many times before. And it was working again, the kid was shifting her gaze between the two men and the door, clearly uncomfortable speaking up. Well. Then Luke would.</p><p>"Close? Jesus, you said that place was up in Michigan! We need something now-"</p><p>"We need somewhere safe, and that's our best bet! And seeing how cold it's gettin' here, Michigan is an exaggeration. Clem-"</p><p>"Don't ask her for help." Luke said, "Your tunnel-vision on Wellington ain't hers-"</p><p>"Clementine can make her OWN decision where to go," Kenny gestured to the girl. </p><p>"Where we go ain't her choice to make!" Luke rose his voice for the first time in a while.</p><p>And Clementine, for another time too frequently, was looking nervous and on edge, once again she had to calm down the adults. "Stop it. <em>Please.</em> We're all tired, can we please just eat? Then talk about what to do? All together."</p><p>Clementine, unfortunately, had the voice of reason for this group. "I'm, I'm sorry," Luke said to her. He felt bad for speaking over her, again. He didn't want to be another adult making choices for her, she had earned more respect than that.</p><p>Kenny tisked and shook his head, then looking at the food in the fire. "I'll get the rest in here to eat."</p><p>A nice hot meal. Well, not so much a meal and not so much nice. At least something hot, was passed around and shared with all that remained of the group. Another discussion of where to go boiled over into another argument. Louder this time, with more voices against Kenny. Still, the one-eyed man wouldn't budge on Wellington. The baby cried, and there were threats of leaving Arvo there with his hands tied behind his back. But, at the very height of the argument, one thing had struck the group. Kenny's frustrated claim that since he fixed the truck, it was his, and Clementine and AJ would be going with him. It was then, they knew Kenny couldn’t see right. It was then, after Kenny stormed off with Clementine following to calm him, that Jane gave that damning expression to Luke, and Luke knew there was no point in arguing. What he did know was that they would be leaving. That night.</p>
<hr/><p>"Clem. Clementine-" </p><p>Along with the hushed voice saying her name, Clem was woken up by a hand she shoulder lightly shaking her. She had fallen asleep after the group's argument hours ago, curled up on the window seat out facing the truck. One eye opened and the other was rubbed awake by her small fist, she saw Luke and Jane kneeling down to her, the latter with AJ in her arms.</p><p>Clementine stirred awake, she sat up and got a quick look around. It was dark, must be real late at night, and she could hear some hushed voices out the window behind her. Mike? Bonnie? What was everyone doing up? "What's going on-"</p><p>Luke put a finger to his mouth and gently shushed her, "Come on outside," Luke whispered, "Stay quiet, okay?" He stood up and glanced behind her at the window, his heart began to race again.</p><p>Clementine's face began confused and worried, but she nodded and followed the two adults. Outside, she saw Arvo and Mike tying to start up the truck, and Bonnie coming over with a dufflebag of their supplies.</p><p>"I've got the rest of it," she said quietly, then placing it in the truck bed next to the other.</p><p>"We're leaving now?" Clementine turned up at Luke and Jane with a puzzled expression. Night time seemed like an odd choice, but it could account for their quiet voices. Noise could attract walkers. "Where are we going?"</p><p>The adults all looked between each other, sharing a tense and almost sorry bearing on their face and shoulders.</p><p>"Clem," Jane looked to her and took another step towards the truck. "We're gonna talk about it in the truck, but we gotta go. We can't be here anymore."</p><p>Clementine looked between everyone, then back at the house. "Where's Kenny?"</p><p>Another pause from the adults. Another step back from Clem.</p><p>"Clem," Luke sighed and reached out a hand to her shoulder, but she stepped back again.</p><p>"No, where's Kenny?" Clementine looked back at the house. "Kenny!"</p><p>"Hey-" Mike shushed her. "Keep it down, alright?"</p><p>Clementine's brows twisted back into that confused furrow, then the angry scowl few had seen. "You're leaving him behind?"</p><p>Mike sighed, "Listen, we just got to get away from that guy, Clem. Okay?"</p><p>Clementine shook her head, "No! No, you can't do that-" She took another step towards the house, she needed to get her friend.</p><p>Luke sighed and came closer to her again. He knelt down to her, ignoring the pain in his knee, and put two hands on her shoulders, getting her to face him and listen. "Clem. I know you love him, I know he can be a good man, but right now he's not thinking right. He's dangerous, Clem, and I'm scared he might get you killed. So please, <em>please</em> ...just get in the truck?" His voice was a low, pleaded whisper, and there whole world of worry and guilt behind his eyes. He couldn't lose her too.</p><p>Clem's scowl morphed more into a frown, and she swiped Luke's hands off her. "No. Why are you doing this?"</p><p>"He didn't give us any choice," Jane spoke up, Arvo at the truck seemed to agree. He muttered something in Russian and spit in the stamped snow under him.</p><p>"Clem- Damnit, we don't have time for this." Mike spoke up again, "Luke, is she coming or not?"</p><p>"Mike- just give us a minute." Luke said, giving him a short scowl, then looking back at Clementine for an answer. </p><p>Clementine, however, was already back into the house. As she opened the door, Kenny was already there, practically so angry steam was coming off him.</p><p>"What the fuck is goin' on out here?" Kenny pushed Clem aside and charged down the stairs at them. His face and voice the same sinister expression they had seen back escaping from Howe's.</p><p>"Shit-" Jane spoke, the rest of the group had their own exacerbated and fearful reactions. She set AJ down in the backseat and was the one to step forward.</p><p>"I'll tell you, Kenny," she came forward with a finger up, ignoring Clementine who had come between them. Her arms were up, trying to prevent what she feared.</p><p>Before Jane could tell Kenny, a shot rang out. All stood stunned and shocked, and watched the little girl crumple onto the snow below. Blood pooled out from her shoulder and stained the dirty snow red. Her hyperventilation puffed out shaky little clouds, at least telling them she was alive. For now.</p><p>"No!" Mike yelled out, then turning around to see where the shot came from. The Russian stood there, firearm in hand, expression like a big blue-eyed doe in the headlights. Once Kenny glared at him, he bolted off on his rickety legs into the woods, as far away as he could go. </p><p>"Cle-Clem!" Bonnie yelled, she came close and reached out, but her arm was pulled back at Mike. "Don't you touch me! Clem, I'm-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen-" Bonnie shugged Mike's hand off, but then backed out with him to the woods to catch Arvo. Or protect him from Kenny, from much worse than he had done. From the wrath Carver had faced.</p><p>"Clem!" Jane got down to the ground and pulled Clementine's body into her lap, besides her shaky breaths, the girl's body went limp. "Shit, shit shit shit-" Jane cried, her hands hovered and shook above her, going between the wound, her cheek, and her neck.</p><p>"Jesus Christ, Clem-" Luke said in stunned shock.</p><p>"Clem!" Kenny came down to the ground as well, and Luke did too. Both men felt immense panic and confusion, and Kenny felt justified rage as well. "What the fuck did you do!" Kenny yelled back at Arvo, and saw Mike and Bonnie running with him into the woods. "What did you DO!?"</p><p>Clementine's hazel eyes rolled back into her head and shut. As she passed out, the last thing she heard were all the muffled, fading voices saying her name...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>it's already taken a month to write this first chapter, and i really hope you all enjoy it! i've put so much time into getting the details of the episode right, down to the dialogue and hand motions characters made in the game. arguably, too much detail.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. No Going Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey, sorry this came a day late, but enjoy! more notes at the end for the different choices.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"On the left!" Jane points out the windshield, and nearly in tandem the truck jerks on the road as it had dozens of times in the last few hours. It skid on the icy roads, the tires screeched as weight shifted around haphazardly. Three winters in the apocalypse made these roads treacherous, but drivers more reckless. "Slow down!"</p><p>"Shut up!" Kenny snapped at Jane, as he had dozens of times in the last few hours. Time spent in this truck seemed to move at an insufferable sluggish pace, and the distance they gained further out into nowhere felt stretched tensions thinner.</p><p>In Luke's lap, he felt Clementine's head move a bit and he heard another groan. And as he had dozens of times in the last few hours, he thought she was finally awake only to have worry and silence follow. But this time, he was right. "Clem?" Luke let out a finally relieved sigh, "She's awake."</p><p>The young girl sat up, she was still rather groggy and slow in her movements. Her fists balled up and rubbed her eyes clear of sleep, then she winced and touched her bullet-wounded shoulder. It must all be coming back to her.</p><p>"Hey you," Jane looked back and smiled, relief trickled down the inside of her chest at the sight of Clementine awake. She was awake. The baby in her arms cooed, in that way babies do before they cry. He was hungry, probably hungrier than all of them.</p><p>"Clem! Oh thank god." Kenny whipped his head around as well, relief bursted out of him through volume and wide eyes, but he refocused them on the road before too long.</p><p>"What happened?" Clementine asked, then pulling a hand away from her shoulder. She was still dazed and groggy after being out for a long time.</p><p>"That piece of shit Russkie shot you." Kenny answered, the hostility he felt towards Arvo still present while the teenager no longer was.</p><p>"We had to run the truck to keep you warm," Jane filled in more. The heater was the reason they started driving, they needed to keep Clementine warm after what happened. But they still had no destination, just driving absently on whatever roads they found.</p><p>"Been drivin' a few hours now. How do ya feel?" Luke asked the girl sitting by his side, he tried to have his concern mask the guilt he felt. They drove through the rest of the night, in the beginning with lots of yelling but it settled into a tired silence. He had seen the world outside the window become day lit, but there were too many clouds for a sunrise. He had seen too many these past few weeks...</p><p>"It hurts." Clem said, but her face portrayed a tired strength of someone far greater than her age.</p><p>"Couldn't find the bullet, must've gone clean through. It'll burn a while, but you'll be fine." Jane assured her. It was a frenzied, panicked couple minutes when Clem was bleeding out in the backseat when Jane dug her fingers in to feel for the bullet, or any splintered bits of it, then more as she held down pressure and wrapped gauze on her over her shirt, too afraid the cold would kill her to take her shirt off. But the bleeding stopped, and her heart kept beating, and she was still breathing. Clem would be okay.</p><p>In the driver's seat, Kenny let out a displeased sound through his teeth. "That fuckin' shirtbird..." He looked between Luke and Jane, "Bet y'all feel real smart untyin' him." Kenny digged, almost instigating a re-hashing of the screaming matches they had had a few hours earlier.</p><p>"We didn't know that would happen-" Luke looked at Clem with sorry eyes. He didn't want to justify himself to Kenny again, when she was the one who was hurt. "That wasn't supposed to happen."</p><p>Jane, however, wasn't as controlling of her temper. "He looked like he was aiming for <em>you,</em> Kenny."</p><p>"Oh?! Well that just makes it all better." Kenny scoffed, "You sons of- I mean, I expected it from the Russian, and <em>you,"</em> he side-eye glared at Jane, "But not Mike. And not you, <em>Luke."</em> Kenny looked back at Clem, "We never should've thrown in with trash like this in the first place."</p><p>Luke let out a guilty sigh. "Look, man. We didn't expect it to do down like that. But what happened <em>happened,</em> and now we gotta focus on where the hell we're going."</p><p>After a discontented <em>hrumph</em> from Kenny and his sights refocused on looking straight out the windshield, there was another pause between them, but they had no time to waste. Every second, they were getting further out in the empty, cold, nowhere.</p><p>"Is Bonnie okay...where's Mike?" Clementine asked.</p><p>Luke, with another hangdog expression, remembered what happened. "They, uh...they left with Arvo." His response didn't capture the exact feelings around the matter and the moment, but it was the truth nonetheless.</p><p>"They took off on foot," Jane added, but considering they were the ones with the truck it was self-evident.</p><p>"Didn't get this puppy, thanks to you." Kenny pat the dashboard in some semblance of proud appreciation. But that was the last thing said on the uncomfortable matter, which left so many questions that Clementine was afraid to know the answers too.</p><p>There was another pause, then Luke broke it, refocusing them on the important matter of their destination. "Now that Clem's awake, we should talk about where we're going."</p><p>"We're headed north." Kenny answered.</p><p>"What, to find 'Wellington'?" Jane's voice was accusatory, even through all the impracticalities and the fighting, Kenny had tunnel-vision for what had to be an unreachable fantasy.</p><p>"You sure talk a lotta shit, but you got a better plan?"</p><p>"We head south, back to Howe's." Jane answered, her bluntness piqued the dumbfoundment of both men.</p><p>"Carver's camp? You serious?" Luke asked.</p><p>"The fuck kind of plan is that?!" Kenny's voice inflected higher in his shock. Last they had seen it, that place was swarmed with a herd and full of AR-welding bastards who wanted them dead.</p><p>"I think Bonnie said there was more formula back there. <em>And</em> we actually know where it is." Jane said, at least her plan had a cool logic.</p><p>"And it was overrun by a damn herd!" Kenny objected.</p><p>"I don't care where we go! Just please, stop <em>arguing."</em> Clementine spoke up, once again trying to break the adult's dysfunction apart, but once again not being enough.</p><p>"She's the one that's goin' off!"</p><p>"Because you won't listen to a thing I'm saying!" Jane's volume increased to match.</p><p>"What's that? You're talkin' into my bad ear, sweetheart."</p><p>Jane turned away, and with her voice lowered but still curt, she cursed him. "Jackass"</p><p>"Jane-" Luke interjected, he really wished she would stop antagonizing him.</p><p>"Aw, I still can't here you," Kenny said, still riled.</p><p>"Look, even if there is someplace up here, it could take us weeks to find it. We could get back to Howe's in a day." </p><p>From the backseat, Luke begins to agree. "It ain't the worst plan…" Hell, right then it felt like the only viable plan any of them had.</p><p>"Tell you what, we can turn around just as soon as you pry this wheel from my cold, dead fingers. How's that sound?" Kenny said, acting out as he did when he felt outnumbered.</p><p>"Dude." Luke shook his head. This, this was why he wanted to get them all away from him.</p><p>"Whatever. I give up." Jane kicked her legs up on the dash and leaned backwards, trying to make herself a bit more comfortable, but Kenny wasn't having it.</p><p>"Get your feet off the dash." Kenny swiped at her legs in a punitive manner, no purpose other than his small grip on control and spiteful for Jane.</p><p>Jane, too, had spite. "Let's play a game, Clem. I spy with my little eye, an asshole. Your turn." Jane turned and smiled at her, but Clementine didn't return this immature goading.</p><p>"Grow up."</p><p>"Go to hell."</p><p>"I'll pull this fuckin' car over," Kenny threatened.</p><p>"Go ahead," Jane said, further antagonizing him.</p><p>"You wanna die out here?"</p><p>"C'mon, y'all, don't be like this." Luke interrupted, still trying to strike a balance of peace.</p><p>"You're both being children." Clem said, but the irony seemed lost on the front seat.</p><p>"Me? I couldn't see the damn road."</p><p>"Bet you're having trouble seeing a lot of things these days." Jane struck a low blow.</p><p>"You shut your fuckin' mouth." Kenny snapped, "I am done playin' games with you, Jane."</p><p>"Fuck you. You don't know a damn thing about me."</p><p>"Oh, I know exactly what you are. Nothin'. Nobody cares about you, and you don't care about nobody but yourself. That makes you nothin'." His words dripped with acid.</p><p>"What is it with you?" Jane asked. "It's your family, right?</p><p>"Don't." Kenny felt that old anger brewing in him again, and they all could see what Jane was instigating, but Clementine knew what she was doing was far worse.</p><p>"It is, isn't it?" Jane was still jabbing at the sore spots</p><p>"I'm warning you, you little shit!"</p><p>"Jane-" Luke interjected again, he wanted her to stop before this went to a place no one could control. But she kept pushing.</p><p>"You're just another Type-A asshole tryin' to save a bunch of dead people."</p><p>"Watch the road-" Clementine said, the truck was weaving side to side.</p><p>"I am, godammit!" Kenny looked back, and kept his eyes burning on the road a gaze he meant for Jane. "You listen to me. You mouth off about my family and I will fuckin' end you."</p><p>"Jesus Christ, I am so sick of this wounded warrior crap! Just pull over! I can't take this."</p><p>"What, runnin' away again? What a fuckin' shocker!" Kenny almost laughed. "In the end, still only care about yourself, right?"</p><p>"And where were you when Sarita got bit, Kenny? Huh? Where were you?"</p><p>Luke winced, eyes wide and mouth closed. Like Clem, his mouth feels sealed shut under the heat of their argument. Both only sputtering in small objections to try to gain peace when they could.</p><p>"I was there. I couldn't...goddamn you. I loved that woman!" Kenny yelled with that fresh hurt in his eyes. </p><p>"You could love you? Look at you. You can't raise this kid, it's scared to death of you!"</p><p>"I got this way savin' your ass from that hell hole. And I would've left you to rot if I'd known what you were."</p><p>"Jane! Kenny loved Sarita." Clem tried to object, but only gave Jane more fuel.</p><p>"Of course he did! He loves having anyone around that does what he says. That's why he loves this kid so much, it can't talk back yet."</p><p>"Fuck you."</p><p>"You know the thing about people like you, Kenny? You're just a bomb waitin' to go off." Jane pushed further. "Everyone talks about you behind your back because they're afraid of you."</p><p>"That ain't true." Kenny said. He needed it to be.</p><p>"Mike. Bonnie. Luke. Sarita-"</p><p>"You fuckin' liar, that ain't true!"</p><p>"Everyone around you knows that sooner or later, they're gonna end up dead," Jane's voice raised to the climax, "Sarita knew it, I know it, and so does Clementine!"</p><p>"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY!"</p><p>"FUCK YOU!"</p><p>"YOU FUCKIN' PIECE OF SHIT!"</p><p>"GO TO HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH!"</p><p>Kenny's eyes looked back at the road for just a second, but just the right one. "Jesus!" The whole truck swerved as it skittered on the ice. All passengers were pressed up against the sides and trying to hold their bodies right. Jane clutched her head and the baby, Clem her bullet wound, Luke the car handle and Clementine's okay shoulder, and Kenny the wheel. </p><p>"You okay?" Kenny asked, the anger disappeared from his voice.</p><p>"I'm fine." Jane was curt.</p><p>"How's AJ?" He asked.</p><p>"He's fine."</p><p>"You sure?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Kenny turned to the backseat. "Luke? Clem, you alright?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah." Luke loosened his grip on both the handle and Clem, and looked down for her answer.</p><p>"Yeah…" The girl said, then rolling her wounded shoulder.</p><p>"Have y'all had enough?!" Luke furrowed his brow and looked between the two, his voice now held anger.</p><p>Jane, with what almost seemed regret, turned away from Luke and eyes cast down in Kenny's direction. And in an uncharacteristically timid attempt at an apology, she said "Kenny, I'm-"</p><p>"Wait, hold on." Kenny cut her off, now he looked out onto the car blockage. "One of 'em might have diesel."</p><p>"We shouldn't stop here." Jane said, as she soothed the crying AJ.</p><p>Luke looked out as well. "It doesn't seem safe."</p><p>"We're runnin' on fumes. Got no choice. When I holler it's okay, drive up closer." Kenny opened the door and stepped out. "Anything happens, I'll try to meet you there," he pointed out to an old, blue sign, advertising a rest stop close by. "Alright?"</p><p>"If you're going, go now." Jane shrugged with impatience.</p><p>"Kenny-" Clem tried to call his name, but was cut off by Kenny slamming the door.</p><p>There was a pause, only the wind outside and the baby crying there to fill the sound. Luke tried to set a comforting hand on Clementine's shoulder, but the young girl pulled away into the front seat.</p><p>"That fucking asshole...GOD." Jane followed her frustration with tired futility. "I can't do this anymore. I'm serious. Clem. I tried, but I just can't."</p><p>"You're both losing it." Clem said.</p><p>"Clem, everyone's like that around him. You know that." </p><p>Clem looked down in silence and her face fell, it hurt to know</p><p>Jane looked out the window, so deep in thought that she didn't she didn't try to soothe AJ's crying. There was nothing she could do for his hunger, anyway. "We could leave. Right now."</p><p>"Are you serious?" Luke asked.</p><p>"What about Kenny?" Clementine added.</p><p>"Look, I know you're close to him, but... This is our chance, Clem." Jane plead for her. "Don't you ever want to know what it's like to live your own life?"</p><p>Gunshots answered where Clem hesitated to. First one, then two more. Out from the wreckage walkers came, they wandered out to follow the sound.</p><p>"Lurkers, shit-" Luke cursed, this was the <em>last</em> thing they needed.</p><p>"It's snowing! Why are they moving?" Clem was told that they wouldn't when they got too cold.</p><p>"They must not be cold enough yet. FUCK." Jane reached over and revved the keys, then changed the clutch to drive. "Get us outta here!"</p><p>"Whoa now! Wait a second-" Luke was aghast at the notion of a child driving.</p><p>"I don't know how to drive!" Clementine shared his surprise.</p><p>"See that pedal on the floor? Step on it! Don't just sit there!"</p><p>"No, Clem-" he reached his hand out to try to stop her, there was enough time for Jane to switch seats before the walkers came. But before he could reach the wheel, Clem slammed the gas. The truck lurched forward, swerving uncontrollably for a few seconds before it hit the first walker, then the second.</p><p>"Jesus!" Jane yelled as the wheels crunched over the body,</p><p>"Goddamn-AH!" Luke groaned in pain as his body hit the side of the truck door again.</p><p>A body crashed through the windshield, the smell of its flesh almost hit them before the pieces of glass. It's arms hung towards them, reaching and retching it's horrible growels. Clem ducked out of its way, which caused the whole truck to swerve and crash into a curbside ditch.</p><p>Once the truck was stopped Jane opened her door and rushed out with the baby, getting them both out of the reach of the walker. "Fuck, get out of there!"</p><p>Clem tried to open the driver side door, her body pressed up against it out of it's reach, their faces mere feet from each other. "The door is stuck!" She jiggled the handle again, but the door wouldn't budge, the hill on her side blocked it. </p><p>"Oh shit. Shit! There are more of them. Move!" Jane yelled, she had to run off as more came close. She couldn't fight with AJ in her arms. "Clem!"</p><p>Clem pulled out her gun and shot the walker, her only real option, then slid across the seats to get out Jane's door. In the crash, Luke had hit his head against the side of the door. It took him a moment to get it together and realize what was happening, as he did he heard Jane yell from far away for them to hurry, then saw the walkers following.</p><p>"Jane, wait!" Clem yelled back as she got out of the truck. Just as she did, a walker pinned beneath the wheels grabbed onto her leg and dragged her to the ground. The girl kicked it in the face then off her ankle, shooting it the leg before Luke got out of the truck.</p><p>"Clem!" He came out and helped her off the ground. "Shit- we gotta go."</p><p>Clementine didn't need to be hustled, the two quickly took off and got away from the walkers swarming the crash, then slowed for the blizzard and Luke. The gunshot made his gait limping, the blizzard made it impossible to see. Rushing to the rest stop may get you caught in a walker's arms faster than walking could. In the snow they walked together, Clementine held onto his limping side to support him, and slightly huddled under him. Her gun still held ready at her side. Both shivered, cold to the bone, but the shadow of rest stop emerged from the blank empty white. They made it, Clem rushed inside ahead of him. Inside she saw a figure.</p><p>"Jane?" She first asked, but upon closer glance she saw the figure of an old friend. "Kenny!"</p><p>"Are you alright?" Kenny rushed towards the girl.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>Kenny looked in her arms, and then in Luke's as the man walked in. "Where is he? Where's the kid?"</p><p>"He's with her-"</p><p>"You left him with HER?!" His voice raised, and he ran outside again without hesitation. "JANE! JANE!"</p><p>Out through the other glass door, Clem began to make out a hunched figure in the distance. Luke saw it too, and walked with her to the door. But as the figure emerged, they realized she was solitary. "Wait…" Clem said at the sight of her empty arms.</p><p>"Jane! Are you okay?!" Luke asked, once seeing her arms his relief diminished. "Where's AJ?"</p><p>"Oh thank Christ." Kenny ran in and opened the door for her. It was then he saw she was alone. His voice dropped. "Jane. Where is he?"</p><p>Jane came into the decapitated rest stop with her arms crossed over her chest and bent forward, likely from the cold. Her face held a guilty, pained look, which passed from the men and lingered on Clementine.</p><p>"Oh my god…" Clementine said, her voice lowered with a horrified whisper.</p><p>"Where is he?" Luke asked. In his mind, he tried to play scenarios to figure out what happened, but he couldn't even think of something so horrible. "...Jane?"</p><p>The woman broke eye contact, then staring at the floor. "He's-"</p><p>Kenny's eyes went wide, a familiar pain crept up in him and softened his voice. "What're you sayin'?"</p><p>The four stood there for a moment looking between each other. The weight of what Jane hadn't said began to sink them. "No...No!" Kenny let out a guttural yell with horrified disbelief, he lost his boy again. He ran out to find him, to see if he could save him. Luke stood there in shock. Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos, Sarah, Pete, Nick. They were all gone, it was all for nothing. They lost their baby after all this… "No, not again...not again…" Clem whispered to herself. Shattered few memories she had of Christa's baby were all coming back.</p><p>With Kenny out of the door, Jane straightened out, and put her hands on Clementine's shoulders. She matched her eye level, and made sure she listened. "Clem. Look at me." Jane took a quick look at Kenny. "No matter what happens, just stay out of it."</p><p>"Jane, what're you talking about?" Luke looked at her with confusion, his head was still full of questions and sorrow.</p><p>"I don't understand!" Clem cried.</p><p>"You have to trust me. Just trust me, Clem." Jane said. "You're gonna see what he really is."</p><p>"Jane, what did you do?" Luke felt his stomach drop. No, no no. Jane was up to something, something bad. He didn't like the look she had in her eyes. But Jane still didn't answer, and before she would Kenny slowly charged back into the rest stop. There was rage on his face, all his anger set ablaze. Jane got up and took her hands off Clementine, then slowly backed away from him in apprehension.</p><p>"Kenny, calm down. Don't do anything stupid." Clementine said, her voice tense but even, like she was speaking to a wild animal.</p><p>His eyes locked on Jane, he shoved Clementine to the side. "Get outta my way."</p><p>"Kenny?" Clem was fearful, she hadn't seen anger like that since they escaped Howe's. She didn't know what he was about to do this time.</p><p>"Hey-" Luke didn't want to let this happen. He had known what Kenny did, he knew what Clementine had watched him do. Seeing more people tear each other apart was more than he could take right now. He tried to put himself in front of Jane and stop Kenny, but Kenny shoved him out of the way too. With more force than he had Clementine.</p><p>"How could you kill a FUCKING CHILD?!"</p><p>Jane backed into a corner of the room as Kenny swung at her with his fists. She ducked, and ran out to the middle of the room. In self defense, she drew her knife. "It was an ACCIDENT, Kenny-"</p><p>"BULLSHIT!" Kenny yelled. In that moment, Luke and Clem would have questioned him about what he saw. But all that happened was twisted, horrible images of the child's body in the snow. What had happened? They wanted to ask what he had seen, but the fight on the verge of commencing took their full attention.</p><p>"I won't back down from you Kenny." Jane squeezed the grip of her knife, and looked him in the eyes.</p><p>"Shut up!" Kenny and Jane circled around each other, waiting for the first strike.</p><p>"I'm warning you-" Jane growled.</p><p>"Jane, don't. Just don't." Clem warned Jane, she knew what Kenny could do to her.</p><p>Jane looked at the girl, and slid the knife back into her thigh sheath. "Don't come near me you son of a bitch."</p><p>The tense glares intensified, Luke could tell this would get worse fast. He pushed Clem behind him, out of the way, and came between the two. "Hey, hey- You two are NOT about to kill each other! We can talk about this!"</p><p>"I'm done talkin'." Kenny had his eyes locked on Jane.</p><p>"I'm not letting this crazy <em>fuck</em> anywhere near me." Jane spit.</p><p>"I don't need permission." Kenny said. Next, he charged Jane. She pulled her knife out, but it clattered to the floor as he pushed. He had her slammed against the glass door behind them, it cracked beneath his force, but didn't break under her weight. He had one arm pressed on her chest, but Jane had her hands free.</p><p>"Kenny!" Clem shouted. No, he was doing it again.</p><p>Jane held her hands up and gouged Kenny's eye sockets. <em>"Get the fuck OFF!"</em></p><p>Kenny screamed in pain, but didn't let her go. They struggled as he had her pinned, the gauze across his crushed eye fell to the floor. "Fuck you!"</p><p>"STOP! PLEASE!" Clem yelled, but no one would listen to her. She ran out from behind Luke, who was also coming over to stop them, and pulled on Kenny's arm, which broke him away from Jane and let her down. Kenny stumbled back into Luke, who tried to hold and restrain Kenny from behind. Jane took the opportunity to punch him square in the face. But Kenny fought the restraint, he elbowed Luke in the ribs, knocking the young man to the floor with a cry. Kenny, now free, managed to grab Jane's knife off the floor before Luke could get the breath in him again.</p><p>"Luke!" Clem yelled, then saw as Kenny picked up the knife.</p><p>"Asshole!" Jane yelled.</p><p>"You fuckin' babykiller-" Kenny swiped the her with the knife.</p><p>"Oh my god!" Clem yelled. Kenny backed Jane up outside, both standing ready to attack, but Kenny had the knife.</p><p>"Just go!" Jane yelled.</p><p>"I ain't goin' <em>nowhere."</em></p><p>Clem put herself between them, her arms out and looked back and forth between them. "Can we all just talk? Just sit down and talk?" </p><p>"Words ain't gonna fix this." He tightened his grip.</p><p>"Fucking psycho!"</p><p>"This is on you!" </p><p>"Stop! You don't have to do this!" Clementine yelled again, and then again as Kenny took her arm and threw her aside. She hit the ground just as Luke came out, he tried to take her place between them, but before he could, Kenny lunged, and stabbed Jane in the arm.</p><p>"AHHHH!" Jane screamed in pain and held her hand near the knife. It stuck out of her upper arm, close to the shoulder. She backed up away from the men.</p><p>Luke saw the knife in her arm, then the rage in Kenny's bloodied eyes. He felt his heart beat in his throat, fear pumped into every part of him. Yet, he threw himself in front of Kenny. "Jane! Fucking run!" </p><p>She didn't need coaxing, Jane looked at him with fear in her own eyes, then took off running towards the road. In seconds, her figure had disappeared into the snow, back where it had came.</p><p>Luke and Kenny began to wrestle, holding each other's forearms and trying to push the other off. Clementine got up, looking between the two, she just didn't know what to do.</p><p>"She killed him! How could she kill a fucking child?!" Kenny screamed, Luke so close to his face.</p><p>"KENNY! Stop!" Luke yelled back. "It's fucking over!"</p><p>It wasn't over for Kenny yet. His anger wasn't gone. He threw Luke to the ground and began running to the road, Jane couldn't be far. As he did, Luke grabbed his ankles, crashing Kenny to the ground with him. Kenny got to his knees, his eyes then on Luke. He began to fight Luke, but Luke couldn't put up as much of a fight, he wasn't as strong as he used to be, and his younger body was bashed and broken. <em>"You let her get away!"</em> Kenny yelled, Luke shouted back. "It's over! Stop it! It's fucking done!"</p><p>"Look at what you're doing!" Clem came over, shouting at them. But she couldn't get through to Kenny. "LISTEN TO ME!"</p><p>"Get him off!" Luke yelled to her, the older man had now gotten on top of him with both arms pinned down. Clementine grabbed Kenny, and with all her strength she pulled him off. Now with Kenny off of him, Luke sat up, grabbing around for something to protect himself. He held onto a piece of scrap metal, and without hesitating he stabbed it into Kenny's leg. Kenny lurched back, shouting in pain, and knocked Clementine to the ground behind him. The girl hit her head once she fell.</p><p>New rage flowed into Kenny as red blood flowed from his leg. He sat up, and came closer to Luke. "You piece of shit!" He got on top of Luke, pushed him to the ground again, and put his hands on his throat. </p><p>"God damnit!" Luke shouted. Kenny's hands began to squeeze his throat. He still pushed on Kenny's chest with his arms, he tried to use his legs to kick him off, but Kenny was unshakable. Breathing became harder, he couldn't shout out. <em>"Clem- help-"</em> he choked out, the sides of his vision started to go black. And all he could see was Kenny's eyes. His bloodied, flaming eyes. One caved in, one with the rage of a thousand bulls. Impossible to look away, the creeping darkness obscuring anything in his sight but those intense, burning eyes.</p><p>Clementine watched as her friend strangled another friend. She knew that nothing could stop Kenny when he was like this, she knew how hard she had tried, how Luke had tried. She loved him, but she knew what she had to do. Hands shaking, gun raised. She yelled out again, asking, begging Kenny to stop. But he couldn't hear her. Clementine flinched, she held her eyes down, but she couldn't truly look away. She couldn't look away as she aimed, and she couldn't look away as she fired.</p><p>Kenny fell to the ground, collapsing beside Luke. Luke took a second to take a sharp inhale, the breath entered his lungs, but the air was so cold it felt like glass down his throat. He coughed, and his eyes teared up, and he held gently onto his own throat. He sat up, and pushed his body away from Kenny, but watched as Clementine came close.</p><p>"Are you okay?" She asked, voice quiet, on the verge of well-earned tears. </p><p>"Yeah...yeah, I think so…" Luke's voice was hoarse, he gently held his neck and rubbed it, trying to make the pain go away.</p><p>Clementine nodded, then came closer to Kenny. She knelt down on the ice next to him, and squinted her eyes away in shame, looking back only as he began to speak to her.</p><p>"Clem?..." Kenny asked, his voice was calm, and free of anger. "You made the right choice…" His words became a whisper, he looked up at her with sad and bloodied eyes, but most of all they held a sense of peace. "I let you down," a weak cough interrupted, "I let everyone down…"</p><p>Clementine sniffled, and let out a cry. "Why did you make me do this?"</p><p>"I'm sorry, Clementine…" Kenny looked up at her, his words seemed to be fading. "...We almost made it. We were close, weren't we?" Another weak cough escaped his lips, and he looked up at the sky. They could have been safe together. He thought maybe all this suffering could be over for them. "I thought I wanted this...asked for it...so many times. Now that it's happening...I'm scared." He coughed again and warm blood filled his lungs. "I'm afraid, Clem."</p><p>"It's okay, Kenny." Clementine cried, "You're...you're going to see Katjaa and Duck. You're going to see them again." Clem put her small hand in his half-way palm. It was limp at first, but Kenny held on weakly. His last goodbye.</p><p>"Oh...You're always good for a smile." Kenny smiled weakly as he closed his eyes. His head lowered onto the snow, and soon the smile faded from his face into a weary, but peaceful expression. His fight was over, and he could be at long rest.</p><p>Clementine watched him stop breathing, and she pulled her hand away. Her head hung in silence, the tears slipped down her cheeks and left cold, dry tracks down her face. Luke came over, and pulled her into a hug, her face turned away from his body. "C'mere…" he said, voice slow low and quiet he didn't even know if he said it. Both on the ground, he let her sob. Just holding her, just letting her cry, not saying anything because what could he possibly say. He looked at Kenny's body, his face, the anger that had over powered him moments before seemed so far gone. And Luke, in some strange way, felt sad and sorry for his death. None of them deserved this. Not Kenny, not himself, and certainly not Clementine.</p><p>In a few moments, Jane came up from Luke's direction. The knife wasn't in her arm anymore, but clutched in that hand, the other one clutching the wound that had poured down the rest of her arm. She saw Kenny's body, and the blood pooling on the ground. Clementine wracked with grief in Luke's arms, the bruising around his neck. Luke looked at her, and said nothing. He didn't know how, but this was still her fault. She wanted this to happen. She caused this. Jane looked at him, and dropped her knife.</p><p>And a few moments later, the sound of crying was heard. Not Clementine's, a baby's, a few yards away. When that wailing started, Clementine’s stopped, instead she looked up with a disbelieving expression. She unwrapped herself from Luke's arms, and ran towards it.</p><p>"What...what is that?" Luke said. He stood up in the same second she did, missing Jane's guilty expression as he followed Clem towards an abandoned car.</p><p>Clementine made it to the car first, and through the frosty, dirty window she saw AJ bundled up safe in the backseat. "Oh my god...AJ!" She opened the door and picked up the infant. He was freezing and starving, but he was safe. "Are you okay?" See asked him.</p><p>"He's alive?" Luke had made it to the car just as Clementine pulled the baby into her arms. He sighed with relief, he felt it flow through him and warm him up. That is, until the confusion kicked in. </p><p>"He's <em>alive."</em> Clem looked up at Jane in anger. What was this all for? What was the point? Why lie about this?</p><p>"I understand if you're upset...AJ was never in any danger." Jane's tone was placiating, but soon shifted to guilty as she tried to explain herself, justify her actions. "I was just...going to try to talk you into coming with me. I just thought if you saw Kenny like that… you'd know we'd have to leave him." Her voice cracked. "Look, Clem, I'm sorry. I didn't think Kenny would go that far. But it's over now. We're all safe. We're going to be okay."</p><p>"I don't understand!"</p><p>"Kenny was dangerous. And I needed you to see that. One way or another." Jane was still trying to make Clementine see.</p><p>"What are you saying!"</p><p>"Yeah. What are you saying?" Luke looked at her with furrowed brows and crossed arms. She did this, she instigated him. She pulled the trigger on a man she had seen pushed to his limits, a man she had seen <em>beat someone to death with a crowbar only days before.</em> Of course it would go this far when she made him think she killed a child he had come to obsess over as his own. And for what?</p><p>"I had to do it. She…" Jane looked away from Luke, she only wanted to justify this to Clem. Clem was the most hurt. "...you saw how he reacted. I had to show you what he was capable of." She sighed and shook her head. "It was a stupid plan. I should never have lied to you... But I thought it was the only way you'd see."</p><p>"So you put AJ in danger and almost got us ALL killed just to prove a point?!" Luke shouted at her. It was a stupid, <em>stupid</em> plan that could have costed all of their lives. And she did it in the moment they all needed to depend on one another the most. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, with no food or warmth, nor way out.</p><p>Clem, in a personal moment of silence, looked off onto where it had happened. "Oh my god...Kenny!" The pointlessness and total manipulation of what she had just done had dawned on her. It happened for no reason…AJ was okay, and her oldest friend had died because he was lied to. They all were.</p><p>"You have to forgive me!" Jane's voice broke again, speaking to the both of them. "Please...we can just leave all this behind us. <em>Please…"</em> Clem and Luke stood, staring at her and between each other in silence. Luke didn't want to forgive her, after all this. She had lied and almost cost Luke his life, and AJ his, "I did it for you, Clem. For all of us...we're free now…"</p><p>Luke opened his mouth to tell her to leave, but Clementine spoke first. In a meek and tired voice, sadness in her face, and strength and maturity beyond her years, she forgave her. "I forgive you, Jane…" Clem had lost so many people in the last few weeks, she was thankful she hadn't lost AJ, but she couldn't bear to lose someone else.</p><p>"Thank you...thank you, Clem." Jane sighed with great regret and relief, but she didn't feel totally absolved. Not by Luke. Not by herself. She could never be, not of all that she had done.</p><p>"Well…" Luke sighed. He couldn't forgive Jane. Not yet. But Clementine had forgiven her, and she had lost far more because of her. Luke wouldn't leave her out here, not when they needed her to get home.</p><p>Jane looked at him and knew he wouldn't forgive her yet. That was okay. She had lived with worse. "It's over now...Let's just put this all behind us."</p><p>"Let's go." Clementine wiped tears off her cheek. "Together."</p><p>And, side by side, they went off. Walking, limping, or being carried out onto the road, out into the nothing with hope of embracing safety and warmth. From what they had done, what they had been through, there was no going alone, no looking behind. And there was no going back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>okay, so since this is a twd game, there were places in which the story could have gone differently. like i said in the last chapter, i've come up with many branches, but this story will only follow one game branch that i feel will best explore what i want to.</p><p>i do think that if the game developers did end up with the luke/kenny route, it would not be like this. however, i wanted to keep it as close to cannon as possible.</p><p>different endings would have been:<br/>- kenny endings (both wellington and with him). these cross over from the original game, but instead of letting kenny kill jane, you have to let him kill luke. this would have been a much harder choice for most playing the game. in this version, jane basically runs off during the fight and never comes back. the gunshot is what made her come back.<br/>- luke ending alone. if clementine did not forgive jane, then she and luke would have left her behind. later on, luke and clem would make it to the church community they were originally trying to go to in episode four. there, the three would almost be turned away like at wellington due to low supplies, but when they see there are two children and a wounded young man, they take pity and give them shelter for the night. when luke tells them about howe's, the supplies they find let them join. the church group has a couple of badass apocolypse nuns and other people. with this ending, s3 flashbacks will include the group and they will be background characters in the anf similar to how the 400 days characters were in howe's.<br/>- luke and jane ending they go to howe's. luke takes time to forgive her, but eventually they do. if luke is there, they will let the family in and be stolen from. he and jane end up in a relationship.<br/>- no only jane endings unless luke died at the lake. no alone endings if luke lives through the fight.</p><p>okay, so, that's it for now! the next few chapters won't be from game episodes at all. that's exciting, but also a bit daunting, since i won't really have a guide on what to do. leave a comment if you have some ideas, i'd love to hear, or if you just liked it. they really motivate me. thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Where the Bodies Lay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>did i update and delete this chapter just yesterday? yes. am i reposting it again today? yes.</p><p>basically, for the story i wanted to tell i realized i needed to radically change the ending of the chapter, and as some continuity changes in the rest of it. oops.</p><p>basically it takes plave over the first week the four have returned to howe's. enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jane was right. They made it back to Howe's in a day. Hours down the road, after the blizzard had cleared, and they found another car that only broke down a couple miles from the compound. It was abandoned, any people dead or run out, and walkers on the grounds were either dead or trapped under rubble; mostly other bodies or broken fences. They posed too little of a threat for the group to deal with at the moment, but their steps were careful and eyes cast to the ground as they made their way in.</p><p>First thing they did was get AJ something to eat. It had been two days since Rebecca died, only a bottle was left of formula since that happened. By the time they found the formula, the baby was listless, not even crying anymore. But once a full, warm bottle was brought to his lips, he suckled like his life depended on it. It did.</p><p>They had barely spoken since it happened. All four of them were exhausted, freezing, battered, and starved. Luke was thankful Bonnie left him with her vest. Even if his arms were cold, the warmth on his torso may have been the only thing that kept him alive. With all he had been through the last few days (the beatings, the days spent in the cold without a coat, the <em>near drowning)</em> it was no minor miracle he didn't get hypothermia. After a quick meal of whatever they could find, they split for a place to sleep.</p><p>Clementine had only slept in the pen outside. Last time she was here, she wasn't there long. This place was big, she had only seen few parts of it as an "involuntary expansion worker." Luke knew where the bunks were from when he was a real member of this place. After finishing his meal of cold canned beans, he nudged Clem to come with him. The girl did, and followed him wordlessly with the baby in her arms. He took her to the men's bunk, where he had slept all those months ago as a part of this community. The place looked different. It used to be an employee break room of sorts, judging by the vending machine in the corner. Now it had bunk beds, more than there had been last time he was here. But Luke was too exhausted to notice the differences. The new, unknown initials carved in the two by fours, new jackets and scarves draped on the hooks. He just wanted to sleep, and on the bunk above his, Clementine did too.</p>
<hr/><p>It had been nearly a week now, and the group felt some semblance of well rested. If such a thing existed anymore. "We should start patching this place up," Jane said over their usually silent breakfast. "The walls were busted during the herd, one could wander in here if we aren't careful."</p><p>"I guess," Luke shrugged. AJ was in his arms and chewing on the end tassels of the scarf Luke had wrapped around his neck. He wore it to keep warm, and to hide the dark purple handmarks Kenny had left him with. "No, no," He said softly and pulled them out of AJ's mouth. </p><p>He was feeding the baby so Clementine could get a chance to eat her breakfast. She barely ever let go of the baby, not unless Jane or Luke would hold him. She seemed very attached, almost afraid of setting him down. It was like she was afraid he would just...disappear. To be fair, he had once already. Thanks to Jane. Luke still didn't put his trust in her. Jane now slept in Carver's office, she said it was the best view of the whole place, and the safest spot. But Luke and Clem kept to themselves in the men's bunk.</p><p>"Let's get the bodies out of here first." Clementine said after swallowing a bite of rice. "The smell is getting pretty bad." While they had become nose blind to it, the dozens of rotted and putrefied corpses surrounding the entire strip mall was getting worse by the day, as well as becoming an attraction for wild animals.</p><p>"There's a pit out on the side of the parkin' lot. We can drag the bodies out to it." Luke agreed with Clementine's plan. It seemed best to get the bodies out before fixing up with walls.</p><p>So that's what they did. For a few hours every day over the next couple days, the leftover group was pulling bodies out from piles, out from room to room, and wheelbarrowing them out to the pit. It was hard work, they could only really do one or two bodies at a time, and all of three of them had compromised limbs. They ended up taking turns, the other two either holding AJ or on the lookout for moving walkers. Two walkers came near, and Clem managed to take them both out. Luke could trust her to take care of them. She's shown him she could so many times; in the shed, on the bridge, and so many times on the run. Clem was a capable little girl, and Luke could trust that.</p><p>It was a macabre practice, and a disturbing sight. The rotting bodies would twist and crumble on their way down. Limbs in all directions, gaped and lipless mouths, indescribable tones of flesh and blood… Most of all it was the eyes. Grey, featureless, cataracts and mold making them appear almost like pearls, or dust. So many eyes staring out of the pit, it almost felt like they were drawing them in. Expecting, waiting, for the group to fall. For their time to join the dead.</p><p>When it came to bodies Luke knew, it felt wrong throwing them in the pit. Tavia's, Carver's...it felt wrong. Luke felt sorry seeing her like this, she was Carver's second hand man, but she did what she thought was best for their community. Luke wouldn't be alive if she hadn't convinced him and Nick's family to come with her…but maybe they would be... He wasn't sorry seeing Carver's body, but it did take him a second to recognize it. His face was entirely gone, his head smashed beyond any shape of a skull. Kenny had destroyed this man, and neither Luke nor Jane could hold back a gag. But Clementine could, she had seen it happen.</p><p>"I don't know how you were able to watch that." Jane shook her head as they loaded him into the wheelbarrow.</p><p>"I've seen worse."</p><p>When they found Carlos's body, Luke couldn't bear to see him thrown in with the rest of them. His corpse was bloated, the decay had set in thoroughly, but it was undoubtedly him. "Can...can I bury him?" Luke asked. He hadn't had the chance to bury anyone he had lost. His mom, his dad, Pete, Alvin, Sarah, Rebecca… <em>Nick…</em> All of their bodies were left where they had died, there was no closure. Maybe with Carlos, it could feel like he was putting them all to rest. Have a glimmer of closure.</p><p>"Of course," Jane said. She hadn't known Carlos long, but she had seen him get shot. He didn't deserve to die like that, he was a good man.</p><p>"...can I help?" Clementine asked quietly. She needed closure too, for all those she never could bury. Luke nodded to her. </p><p>They dug a spot for him in the woods. A grave three feet down. Shallow, but with the ground frozen it was as deep as they could go. Luke said no words, just stared at Carlos for what felt like hours before covering him with dirt and fixing a cross made of sticks Clementine had found. He wished he could say that Sarah was safe with him, or at least that he did all he could do to keep her safe. But she wasn't, and he knew it didn't. If he just tried harder to calm her down, or picked her up, or did something more she might be here now. Maybe Nick would be here. That stupid plan to lure the lure the lurkers away from them is what got him killed. The most important person Luke had <em>left</em> killed.</p><p>Luke stood by the grave for a while, just processing it all. All the people he had lost, how far he was from the life he knew not to long ago. In only a few short weeks, things had so irreparably broken that it seemed impossible to move forward. There was no direction now. Find shelter, escape Howe's, find the group, escape the herd...this he found a direction in, he knew what he had to do. Now there was nothing, only a baby he didn't know how to take care of, a woman he didn't trust, and an eleven year old who could take care of herself. Anything of the life he knew in the before, or the life he built in the after, was gone.</p>
<hr/><p>"Ow," Clementine winced to herself and held her shoulder after setting AJ down on a counter. After helping Luke bury Carlos, she went inside to feed AJ. Clementine helped bury Carlos, and she stood behind Luke as he stared silently at the grave. Carlos was not someone she knew for long, nor someone she ever felt comfortable around, but burying him felt cathartic. There were so many she never got to bury. She didn't stay with Luke until he felt ready to leave. Eventually she went inside, she needed to feed the baby or she might lose him too. She read the formula directions and used the bottled water like she was told to. </p><p>Clementine would wince and pause from the pain as she moved AJ and things around. All the picking up bodies and pushing them to the pit was making her shoulder and arm ache. It hadn't been that long since the dog had torn such a gash in her arm, and merely days since a bullet went through her shoulder. She was still healing, but she hadn't been taking care of her wounds and instead been over-exerting herself. Really, they all had. But what choice was there?</p><p>"Jane!?" she called out into the main structure, but she got no answer. It was just her and the baby. Maybe she could find some medicine? She should change her bandages.</p><p>With a baby in her arms, Clementine rooted around by herself. She poked her head into room by room, looking for a first aid kit, or something of the sort. Eventually, she found one in an old office, and took it back to the men's bunk with AJ. She felt safe in there, it was quiet, and walkers wouldn't bust down the cinderblock walls or reinforced door.</p><p>By herself, she disinfected her bullet-wound and changed the gauze again. It really bled a lot, but now it was leaking pus. Gross. Both her arm and her shoulder ached and stung, and honestly she couldn't tell which was worse. </p><p>When it came to her arm, she was almost afraid to look. She knew it would be bad, she felt it. She hadn't looked at it or changed the bandages since they were first put on in the cabin. And that was <em>weeks</em> ago. There just hadn't been time or supplies. Now that was all she had.</p><p>"Ew, ew, ew..." Clementine said as she peeled back the gauze that felt glued to her arm. Had the pus dried, hardening it to her skin? Her disgust managed to rise over the pain, that is, until she saw the wound itself. The gash itself looked barely healed, the stitches were loose and tore at the holes in her skin. Pus was coming up everywhere, undoubtedly an infection, but there was no blood. In the center, a pale scar was beginning to form down the jagged gash of her arm.</p><p>Clementine winced and picked up a cotton ball. She soaked it in peroxide, and hovered it over her arm. "This is gonna hurt," she muttered to herself, but the baby cooed in response. That gifted a small smile onto her face. "One...two… <em>three-"</em> she counted herself down to make it easier, but it didn't ease the searing, bubbling pain. "Owwww- shit!"</p><p>Clementine's pained wince distressed the baby, and AJ started to fuss, the kind of fuss that soon led to crying. "No, AJ, I'm okay. See?" Clementine used her softer, higher voice she used for AJ, but it didn't work. The baby started crying. And with her exposed wound, she picked him up again to shoosh him. </p><p>Clementine's painful noises didn't only distress AJ, but Jane as well. She was walking down the hall when she heard it, then heard AJ crying. "Clem?" Jane opened the door and walked in, <em>"Jesus,</em> what happened to your arm!?" Jane uncrossed her arms and rushed over. She had never seen this wound before.</p><p>"Jane?" Clementine said, she set the baby down so Jane could get a better look. "This is old, I'm just cleaning it out."</p><p>Jane came over and knelt in front of the bed Clementine was sitting on, gingerly taking Clem's forearm to inspect it. It did look slightly healed, and wasn't bleeding like a fresh wound. "That's good, it looks <em>really</em> infected." Jane then looked back up at the girl with concern. "This is huge, how did it happen?"</p><p>Clementine pursed her lips and looked to the side, "Dog bit me. It wanted the food I found, and it attacked me."</p><p>"A dog? Fucking hell…" Jane picked up the peroxide and another cotton ball, "Mind if I…?"</p><p>"No, go ahead." Clem said, her eyes back on the baby who had settled back down. "I was just gonna do it myself."</p><p>Jane nodded, and began cleaning out Clementine's wound. It was pretty badly infected, and the stitches seemed to be hurting more than helping. They weren't holding the flesh close enough together, and the zig-zag pattern pulled the wound closed unevenly. It would leave one hell of a scar. "The stitch work needs to be redone, what is this, <em>fishing wire?"</em></p><p>"It was all I had." Clementine shrugged, now prepared for the sting of peroxide she didn't react as harshly.</p><p><em>"You did this?"</em> Jane looked back at Clementine with an angry, absolutely shocked expression.</p><p>Clementine nodded again, "They thought it was a walker bite. Didn't want to spend supplies on me." They also wanted to lock her in a shed alone all night during winter in walker-infested woods, but Clementine didn't want to speak ill of the dead. Or bring up memories too painful.</p><p>"Well. That's bullshit, this is clearly way too long to be a walker." Jane shrugged. She cleaned the wound out more, then pulled out the scissors from the first aid kit and disinfected it as well.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Clementine leaned backwards and pulled her arm away. </p><p>"Those stitches are uneven and too far apart, see how it's holding the cut together jagged? It makes it harder to heal. And the fishing wire is pulling the holes bigger, it doesn't have enough stretch." Jane said, she was holding Clem's arm again and pointing this out. "I'll stitch you back up, I did myself when we got back here," Jane pointed to her upper arm. Her leather jacket still had the gash from Kenny's stab, but underneath the jacket she had sewn herself up.</p><p>"Um...okay..." Clem said apprehensively. </p><p>"Don't worry kid," Jane smiled in a sad, comforting sort of way. "I'll do a good job." </p><p>Jane left the room and came back a few minutes later with a needle and embroidery floss. Not great, but it was what she used on herself. Better than real floss getting mint chemicals all in the wound. She sat down with Clem on the bottom bunk and disinfected the string, needle, and scissors. "Ready?" She asked, Clementine nodded to give her permission.</p><p>She worked carefully and slowly, first cutting the wire down the middle and pulling the pieces out with the scissors. Clementine shifted uncomfortably and squeezed her eyes, but didn't react too badly. At first when Jane began pushing the needle through her skin, she didn't react more than a held-back wince. Anticipated pain is more well received. But in the middle of Jane's third stitch, she must have hit a nerve.</p><p><em>"Ow!"</em> Clem cried, but her voice still held back from yelling.</p><p>"Sorry, sorry." Jane said, she quickly finished this stitch and took a pause. "You're handling this well. Bet you were the kind of kid who didn't cry getting shots at the doctor." Jane chuckled. "I had to bite down on my belt when I did mine." She gestured to her stab wound again.</p><p>Clementine didn't respond, but she did look down with a near guilty expression. Kenny… Kenny did that. He hurt Jane, and Luke, and Clementine couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. "I'm sorry-"</p><p>"No. Don't be." Jane said. "It's not your fault, it was his. Hell...maybe even mine too." She picked up and started another stitch, and silence came between them again. "...I keep thinking about what I did… It was fucking stupid, and I keep thinking about what I could have done instead. Just told Kenny AJ was actually okay once things got scary. Just <em>not</em> done it in the first place..." Jane shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "God, I'm a fucking idiot."</p><p>Clementine didn't object to that last statement, but she did deepy feel the first. "...I do too…I keep thinking about what I could've done...I think I did the wrong thing… Maybe if I did something else, my friend would still be alive," Clementine sniffled, and cleared her throat. She didn't want to cry. She hadn't cried since it happened. It felt like if she started, she would never stop. "I keep thinking that I killed my friend when I didn't have to. And I didn't even say sorry to him. And I-"</p><p>"Clementine, stop." Jane interrupted her and paused her sewing again. "There was nothing you could have done to stop him. And if you didn't, me and Luke wouldn't be here. You did what you had to. And you don't <em>ever</em> have to apologize for that."</p><p>Clementine locked eyes with Jane but just for a moment. Then she looked back down, and waited for Jane to finish up. Jane didn't understand. The past couple days at Howe's, things had been so quiet and slow. No one was speaking really. It became easy for the mind to slip into "what if"s and "if only"s. The quiet whispered with the voices of regrets and the dead, mourning hung like an impending rain cloud.</p><p>"Well, that doesn't look too bad, does it?" Jane tied off the end of the string and then disinfected the wound one more time. Her stitches were each an even half inch apart, and the wound was held nearly completely closed. "You have to clean this out more often, okay?"</p><p>Clementine nodded, and turned away to reach into the first aid kit. She wrapped fresh gauze around her aching arm, and then pulled her sleeve and jacket back on. </p><p>Jane, to try and undercut this new somber silence, spoke up again. "Hey, let's go check out the greenhouses. I've been thinking about them a bit." She picked up the baby and gestured her head out the door.</p>
<hr/><p>Luke stood alone by Carlos's grave for a good hour or two. The shadows of the trees around him had stretched out east, the only real indication of time past. It was getting cold, and he couldn't take his mind skipping tracks of regrets and monologues of what he would've said if the people they were meant for were still alive. He needed to get inside, before the increasing weight on his shoulders threatened to push him into the dirt with Carlos.</p><p>On his way inside, he saw Clem and Jane head up onto the roof. He came up to them at the stairs, "Hey..."</p><p>"Luke." Clementine smiled at him, a sad, sympathetic smile he had given her hundreds of times.</p><p>"You're back. How was it…?" Jane asked, she passed the baby in her hands to Clementine and stepped down the stairs. She tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he took a step back and looked to the side, brushing her off.</p><p>"It was fine." His sentence was abrupt, but not curt. More like stifled on things he didn't want to talk about. "Where y'all headed?" he asked.</p><p>"The greenhouses." Clem said, adjusting the baby to not put weight on her aching arm. "Come." And so he did.</p><p>They headed up to the greenhouses. The buildings looked exactly as they did last time Clementine was here. They weren't exactly somewhere the herd could trample, up here on the roof. That's why they put them up here, Luke remembered. That and the sunlight.</p><p>"The greenhouse is in good shape," Jane stood facing the building, one hand on her hip.</p><p>"Yup." Luke nodded half-heartedly.</p><p>"You know, maybe we should stay here a while." She shrugged with one arm, gently swinging it at her side. "See how it goes."</p><p>"Really?" Luke said. He didn't imagine being here long, just until the food ran out. "Mmm...lotta upkeep in a place like this."</p><p>Clementine's attention turned away from Jane before she could respond. Over the roof, she heard voices. Luke's gaze followed.</p><p>"Just...just stay behind me." A man's voice. Clementine stepped closer to the edge of the roof to get a look, apprehensive dread began to pool in her.  Please, not another problem…</p><p>"Clem? Luke?" Jane asked, she turned around and stepforward to get a look as well. It was a man, a woman, and a child. A family?</p><p>The man had his family come behind him. He was tall, but clearly not as stocky as he would be under normal circumstances. The woman looked scrawny and hunched over in worry. Their boy seemed the most cared for, as parents would make sure of, but clearly hungry and tired. They all looked ragged and starved; clearly they were looking for food and shelter.</p><p>"Come on," Luke whispered to Clem, he shot a look to Jane as well. They headed down the rooftop stairs to confront the family first. The four entered a gated alleyway between the two buildings, and two groups approached each other from different sides of the fence.</p><p>"They don't look armed," Jane said quietly to Clemenine as the family approached up. She crossed her arms, taking her usual guarded stance.</p><p>"No, but they do look hungry." Luke said. He didn't see them as a threat, he didn't have much left to lose but compassion and he would hang onto that.</p><p>"This your place?" The man asked. He had a thick southern accent similar to Luke's, and his voice was cautious. He was just as afraid that something could go wrong here as Jane and Clem.</p><p>"Yeah, it is." Clementine said, she was direct and blunt.</p><p>"Really?" </p><p>"Sort of, why?" Luke questioned, he took a step closer to the fence.</p><p>"We need help." the woman said, voice almost pleading.</p><p>"My boy, he...he ain't doin' so good." The man shook his head.</p><p>"What's wrong with him?" Jane asked the question curtly, the man reacted defensively.</p><p>"Look, don't worry. He ain't...he ain't bit; just hungry. We've been walking for weeks." He approached the gate closer with his arms out by his side. "Ran out of food a couple days back." He looked into Clementine's arm, seeing AJ. "That your kid?"</p><p>Jane, Luke, and Clem all looked at the baby, and Clementine rocked him. But none answer the question.</p><p>"Where've y'all been?" He asks another question, this one not as ignored or positively received.</p><p>"Why do you care?" Jane asked aggressively and uncrossed her arms. Luke looked over at her with furrowed brows, perturbed by her aggression. </p><p>"Whoa, I didn't mean nothin' by it." The man raised his hand up and backpedaled.</p><p>"Step away from the fence, please." Clem ordered, and the man did step back.</p><p>"Keep an eye on him." Jane whispered to Clem again.</p><p>"Whoa, whoa. Calm down," Luke raised his hands and looked at Clem and Jane. "They ain't done anything. We can all just <em>talk.</em> Like <em>people."</em> Luke muttered his next statement under his breath "No need to bear your teeth like fuckin' animals."</p><p>The man looked through his glasses at the compound. It was plain to see this place was in some sort of chaos not too long ago. Bodies still littered the surrounding structures and the make-shift walls were badly damaged. "This place could use a lotta work."</p><p>"Yeah." Jane said.</p><p>"We could help you." He was trying to negotiate a way in, get his family inside and safe.</p><p>"There's not that much food left." Jane spoke to just Clementine again. Not enough for seven people.</p><p>"Hey, come on now," Luke scowled at Jane. He didn't like the way she was trying to make Clementine only think about herself. "In case you two forgot, we're all trying to make it out here." He came closer and whispered out of the family's earshot: "And it ain't exactly <em>ours</em> to claim."</p><p>"Please," the woman stepped towards the fence behind her husband. "We won't make it another night out here." While not her fault, AJ began to cry.</p><p>"Look, I know you don't know us." The man spoke, his wife tried to hold his arm but he swatted her away. "And I know a lotta people out here say a lotta things. But I'm asking you. As a father. Please don't turn us away."</p><p>From behind both parents, the little boy looked through the fence. His eyes matched Clementine's, with a sad hunger that she had felt not to long ago. Back when she was still a helpless little kid. He couldn't have been older than her when this all started.</p><p>"I don't know." Jane said to her group. "They could be anybody. Do we really wanna go through this again?"</p><p>"Please...we'll die out here." The woman begged again.</p><p>"Just give us a chance. Give us a chance to prove ourselves. You don't regret it." The man sounded desperate, almost eager. "I promise you."</p><p>"Do we really wanna let this poor family starve out in the cold?" Luke said, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Or maybe he could. Jane seemed to care only about herself, the way she manipulated Clem and Kenny, hell even himself, demonstrated that to Luke. He didn't trust her, but he didn't want to pick fights. "Come on, we can share what we have, and this place is big enough for all of us."</p><p>Clementine paused, contemplating. And when she spoke again, she let them in. "Come in."</p><p>"Thank you…" The woman smiled with relief. Luke did too, glad he wouldn't be fought, and that Clem still had a heart.</p><p>"Around the side," Clementine pointed with her head to the door on their left, she would let them through the emergency exit. The family walked out to that side.</p><p>Once they were out of sight, Clementine, Luke, and Jane made their way to the door. "Are you sure? This place is a mess. And I don't know how long the food will last." Jane spoke up again.</p><p>"Maybe we can start something here, Jane. It's not much. But we'll make it better." Clementine walked through the door inside. </p><p>"I like the sound of that." Luke smiled as he followed her in. Maybe, through all this, that little girl still had optimism and compassion.</p><p>"Just keep your eyes on 'em. We'll be fine." Jane pushed open the emergency door, letting the family through. This was a room they hadn't cleaned up yet, bodies still littered the floor and the place reeked of decomposition and death.</p><p>The man took note of that, he came in and quickly began surveying the place. His wife, who came in last, stood at the door and looked at Jane.</p><p>"My name is Patricia." She spoke, her voice also carried an accent. It wasn't like her husband's, it only tinged her tone on certain words, and it wasn't Southern.</p><p>"Jane." </p><p>"Thank you, Jane." Patricia smiled at her.</p><p>"Don't mention it." Jane looked away, her eyes cast off to the side. She didn't want to be thanked for this. It was Clementine that let them in. If it was up to Jane…</p><p>Patricia jumped forward and surprised Jane with a hug. She was so grateful. "Thank you so much..." she said into the crook of Jane's neck.</p><p>"...Of course." Jane hugged back loosely in her surprise.</p><p>"Name's Randy," the man walked up to Luke and held out his hand.</p><p>"Luke," Luke went to shake it, and Randy squeezed with strength and familiarity.</p><p>"And that there is my son, Gill," Randy nodded over to his son and pat Luke's hand before breaking off the handshake. "Thank you for letting us in." For a flash of a second, he looked at Luke's scarf, and he saw the bruises underneath. Only for a moment, and he walked further into the room before anyone could see his reaction.</p><p>Clementine's eyes trailed the man as he walked into the room. From his back pocket there hung a gun. Jane saw it too, and the two shared an intense look. It wasn't unusual for someone to carry around a gun in this world...but it did make them feel uneasy.</p><p>The little boy approached Clementine. He wanted to get her attention, he was thankful for her, and he hadn't seen another kid in a long time. "Cool hat."</p><p>"Yeah. Thanks." Clementine looked away from him. Here, in a place one fortified and controlled by violence and intimidation, Clementine would attempt something different. Here, she would try to rebuild both herself and the walls, letting those unluckier than her into its walls. Here; where the bodies lay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this was actually the last chapter that uses dialogue/scenes from season 2, and the next couple chapter won't use any until we get to season 3. hope i can still voice the characters correctly!</p><p>alternate choices to the end of this chapter would be agreeing with jane and rejecting the family, obviously, but i want them here for the story.</p><p>let me know what you think of this chapter, sorry it was more boring than the rest. gotta set up the stinky plot in order to get those juicy nuggets of emotional intimacy between broken people in a broken world. yanno? <del>(on that note, next chapter does have luke and clem having a conversation about christa, kenny, and nick. finally)</del></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Words Between Friends & Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>me? posting a new chapter two days in a row? that's madness, it's unheard of...that's crazy...</p><p>hope y'all enjoy lol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The family took a bit of adjusting to, and the family needed to adjust. Neither groups knew anything about each other and the damaged fortification of their current residence served as a perfect metaphor. Damage around something that seemed so secure required the trust and service of strangers to let in and be let in. However, the damaged hull of what once a familiar site, a hardware store, was now crumbled and tarnished into liminal space. And the faces of weary strangers, once neutral in their own right, could now be difficult to trust.</p><p>The new family kept themselves useful. They had now been here about a month, and had kept busy improving the place. They seemed fearful of being kicked out, or maybe they just needed to prove themselves to feel they earned a meal. Patricia would help Jane in the greenhouses and the inventory counts, and she liked to hold and take care of AJ if she got the chance, which usually only happened if Clementine wasn't around. Clementine still seemed scared to let anyone else hold him...</p><p>Randy kept Gill busy. Always getting him to fix some of the barriers and secure the doors with him. "I want ma son to know how his way around a saw 'n' a screwdriver," as he put it. But he never let Gill around the bodies, and they didn't want him outside alone, or around Clementine. They soon learned Gill was eight, the same age Clementine was when this all started. Despite Clementine being the first kid around his age he'd seen in months, his parents didn't want him near her. They still wanted him to keep some innocence they could see Clementine wasn't spared...</p><p>Randy and Patricia helped clear the rest of them out in a couple days, the sight of the pit put them in shock. So many bodies...so many <em>people.</em> They couldn't help but wonder why Howe's was so empty and formerly so fortified. It was clear this place held dozens of people not too long ago, and something broke through all their barriers. <em>Something</em> left dozens of bodies surrounding the area riddled with bullet holes. The group they stumbled into on the inside was a mismatched, tense bunch of survivors including a gun-wielding, bullet-wounded orphan, man with strangulation bruises, and a baby with no parents in sight. They couldn't help but wonder if the group had something to do with it. All of it.</p><p>Randy, against his wife's wishes, wanted to get to the bottom of it. Patricia begged him not to rock the boat, they didn't know what could happen if he disturbed the peace. They didn't know what these people are capable of. They had been here a month, they had kept their heads down and mouths closed, and he wanted to know. "Hey Luke," Randy came up to Luke around mid-day. The younger man was sharpening his machete out in the "pen," as they called the fenced-off area that was once a place customers would buy houseplants, but now appeared more like a jail of sorts with it's high walls and unpadded bunks.</p><p>"Randy." Luke nodded. He had come to accept the new family's presence around him, but he wasn't like his old self. He kept himself polite and friendly, but he didn't make the same dumb jokes, or make himself a fast friend. He was tired. And honestly, afraid. Letting in new people meant you might lose them these days.</p><p>"Damn," Randy rubbed his hands together and blew on them. Winter was in full force now, the cold seeped into their bones. "It's colder than a well-digger's wallet out here." Randy put his hands in the pockets of his coat, one that had been found somewhere in Howe's. "Say, can you help me? There's this hole in the roof that needs patchin' up, and I don't want to take ma boy up there." Randy looked left and right, and then lowered his volume. "He's afraid of heights, ya know how kids that age are."</p><p>Luke looked down at his machete and let out a cloud of breath, putting the whetstone in his pocket and machete back in it's sheath. "Sure. Don't want this place gettin' soaked once the snow melts." He got up and followed Randy up to the roof. He still had a limp, but it wasn't as bad. The bullet hole had closed up, and it only hurt these days when he was on his feet for too long.</p><p>"Welp, here it is," Randy clapped his hands together. It was a hole on the roof of the comic book store next to Howe's, back where Luke had hid waiting for Clementine all those weeks ago. The hole was about the size of a toddler mattress, enough to fall through if not aware of it. Certainly a problem, but Luke didn't know if it was worth fixing. They hardly set foot the building since they came back.</p><p>"Damn." Luke put his hands into his coat pockets and inspected the edges of the hole. "Someone could fall through that if they had their eyes off of their feet." Luke nodded. "Got the supplies?" He asked.</p><p>"Right here," Randy walked over to a pile nearby, a tarp, piece of plywood, two hammers, and a couple nails. He picked up the hammers, and tossed one to Luke, who caught it mid-air.</p><p>"Let's get to work then." Luke said.</p><p>The men got on their knees, careful to lean weight near the unstable edges of the hole. When Luke put too much weight on his shot knee, he would wince, but say nothing. Randy did. "Your knee's been gettin' better. But it still hurts, don't it?"</p><p>"Uh, yeah." Luke said. He shifted the piece of plywood to cover the hole securely, then lined up a nail.</p><p>"...you got shot, right?" Randy asked, he tried to keep casual without being brazen. "Seems hard not to get shot these days, I can tell you. Bullet grazed my shoulder couple weeks back when Patty were shootin' at them lurkers."</p><p>Luke let out an amused puff of air through his nose. "Yup. Got shot when we came across a group of angry Russians. Don't know why there were Russians out here, but hell it ain't the weirdest thing I've seen since this all started."</p><p>"Russians?" Randy let up a curious brow and hammered in another nail. He tentatively asked his next questions. "You think they had sumthin' to do with what happened here?"</p><p>"No, they didn't." Luke shook his head. He answered the question like he had nothing to hide, unaware that it may seem he does. His quick certainty made Randy all the more sure that Luke knew.</p><p>"Oh. But you know what did?"</p><p>Luke paused, and looked at Randy. The eagerness in his voice...something about that Luke didn't trust. Something was telling him Randy didn't trust him either. "No." He turned his head back down and put some more nails in place. "We found this place same as you did, just got here first."</p><p>From then on, they fixed the roof in relative silence. They asked each other for nails, and talked about how else to fix the roof, but Randy did not push Luke again for answers or explanations. In Randy's mind, Luke's easily spotted half-lie was a half-confession. Luke, Jane, and maybe even that little girl had something to do with this place. And with all the bodies rotting in that pit. Randy wouldn't let his family become part of that pile, but he had to buy his time. For now, he would fix rooves and leaks, and he would wait.</p>
<hr/><p>Luke came down from that roof freezing and with pain in his knee, he was looking for a place to sit down and rest it when he came across Clementine with AJ sitting against a stalk of boxes near the fire. Well, that would do.</p><p>"Hey, Clem," Luke groaned on his way down to sit next to her, "How's the lil man?" He smiled and looked over at AJ in her arms. He seemed happy.</p><p>"He's okay, just woke up from a nap." Clem said.</p><p>"Ah, didn't he," Luke touched his little face for a moment, "And didn't you?" He chuckled, he could see the crumpled bedsheet imprints on her cheek. </p><p>"Mmm..." Clem let out a slightly annoyed hum and rubbed her cheek, but she had a little smirk on her face.</p><p>"Don't sweat it. It's good you get sleep." Luke nodded, he looked over at the fire and reached his hands out to warm them. </p><p>"Yeah, but I didn't mean to." Clementine said. "I put him down for a nap and I asleep watching him."</p><p>"You still watch him sleep?" Luke raised an eyebrow. Yeah, he did that too when he put him down, but AJ slept a long time. And when he woke up, he let you know by crying his head off.</p><p>"Well. I can't leave him alone." she readjusted the baby in her arms and rocked him a bit.</p><p>Luke pulled his hands away from the fire and rubbed them as he leaned back against the boxes with her. Yeah. They should talk about this, it's been a long time coming. "I get that." Luke nodded, anything could happen when someone wasn't looking. "But there's me. And Patricia. And Jane. We can all watch him if you need a break, Clem."</p><p>Clementine didn't meet his eyes, she kept her attention on AJ and got real quiet. "I mean… I guess..." Her voice sounded insecure, and a little fearful. That's how she was whenever AJ wasn't around her these days. When it came to the baby, she always seemed so...scared. In a way Luke had never seen Clementine scared before. The kind of scared you get when you feel like you're gonna fuck something up again.</p><p>"Clem," Luke spoke really softly now, his voice didn't have it's joking sway. "Nothing is gonna happen to him. No one will let it." Luke paused, waiting for a reaction but only seeing Clementine hike up her shoulders a little more. "Ever since AJ was born, I've seen that you're scared. And I see you want to protect him. I get it. I do too, but it's...different for you. I can tell." Luke paused again, and took a warm breath in to sort out his next words. "What happened when he was born was terrible. It was a lot of shit out of your control, and we lost a lot of people. But it's not gonna happen to him. We all are gonna do what we need to keep him safe, Clem. And you too."</p><p>Clementine clenched her jaw, and her eyes got sad and still. She didn't look like she would cry, but she looked hurt. Misunderstood. "It's not...that." Her voice was small and quiet, her head turned down more to look only at the baby.</p><p>Luke looked at her with solemn, sympathetic eyes. There had been few times he's seen Clementine so...vulnerable. He knew she was a scared little girl, but she rarely carried herself like one. She bottled up her pain and her fear for others, because she knew she had to. He knew she had to. "Babies...babies don't live that long anymore. If I stop looking. Maybe...maybe..." </p><p>She didn't finish her sentence, but Luke didn't interrupt. Her words faded out, faded in by his own. "What do you mean by that?" By Clementine's face, Luke feared what she may say. He knew she'd seen some horrible things, but <em>what</em> horrible things.</p><p>It was a long pause between them, Luke looking at her eyes which avoided him. She seemed to mull over the memories in her head, trying to describe what she had so long pushed down. "Christa had a baby." Clementine said quietly, the words seemed pulled out of her, like a confession.</p><p>Luke listened intently, and he listened to the words. <em>Had.</em> Christa <em>had</em> a baby. Luke put a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>"It died." Her head dropped down, and she rocked AJ a little harder. Like taking care of him softened the pain of the past. In a way, it did. It transformed it.</p><p>"Oh, Clem..." Luke said, his voice held such sadness. It made sense now, why she was so hesitant to let AJ go. She was afraid the past would repeat itself. "That's not gonna happen again…"</p><p>"How do you know?" Her voice was on the edge of breaking, he could hear the restraint she was using to hold that back.</p><p>"It won't." Luke said with a gentle firmness. "What...what happened?"</p><p>Clementine sniffled, and paused for a moment to recollect her memories. "The baby was sick, it was always sick." From the day that child was born to the day he died just weeks later. Constantly crying, then too weak to cry. Just as AJ was a month ago when they came to Howe's. "Christa said it was 'exposure.' He got to cold. Died when I wasn't looking." Her voice didn't crack, but Luke could hear it bend. She stopped talking and cleared her throat. She didn't want to say more.</p><p>"That's terrible, Clementine. I'm real sorry to hear that..." Luke tried to comfort her and assure her that wouldn't happen again. "That won't happen to AJ. We won't let that happen. He's safe, he's warm, he's fed. We have a home for him here, and people to take care of him." Luke put his arm over her shoulders and pulled the kid close, he looked between her and the baby. "...Rebecca would be real grateful to you if she was here. You take good care of her baby."</p><p>Clementine said nothing and wiped one of her eyes off on her shoulder. Her breaths became deep and bracing, but then soothed out. She wouldn't cry. "...really?"</p><p>"I'm sure she's lookin' down from Heaven happy that you have him." Luke squeezed Clementine gently under his arms before pulling away from her again. </p><p>"...Thank you." Clementine said. It felt good to hear it out loud. She wasn't messing this up again. AJ was gonna be okay.</p><p>"It's alright, you're a good kid." Luke smiled to her in the same, small way she did.</p><p>They sat together in silence for a little while, both warmed by the fire and each other's presence. Luke was reminded back to the days just a few weeks ago when they were on the run together. Before the ski lodge, before Kenny, before Carver caught them, before all of that. On nights when Luke and Clem had watch, around the campfire spent in uncomfortable silence, which over time became friendly. Back when this was all more simple, back when most of his friends were still alive.</p><p>Luke felt cold air on his neck, his scarf was misplaced and not keeping him warm. It did that every so often, just needed to be rewrapped. He pulled on one end of it, and it snaked around his neck and into his hands. It was a good scarf, long, clearly made by someone with love and care. It's yellow and brown stripes faded with long use. Luke wondered who's it was before all this.</p><p>Clementine looked up at his neck and quickly looked away in guilt. Over the month since the fight it had healed, but in the hardest spots there was still fading purple bruises on either side of his neck where Kenny's palms had pressed into him, squeezing the life out of him. Luke saw her look away, and paused for a moment. They didn't really talk about it. It seemed they both wanted to press down a terrible memory together, and each other's silence on the matter pushed them both into more quietness. Yes. They would share looks when something reminded them, they would sit by each other when one looked off and away in memory. But they didn't say anything. Clementine knew why she did it, and Luke did too. Clementine knew she had to, and she wouldn't change what she had done. But the pain lingered, the regret broiled in her stomach. </p><p>"...it doesn't hurt anymore. I'm fine," Luke wrapped the scarf around himself again, keeping himself warm and concealed.</p><p>"I'm sorry." Clementine turned away. She still felt so <em>guilty</em> about what happened. Felt that she could have done more to stop it. </p><p>"It ain't you fault, Clem." Luke said. "You've got nothing to be sorry about."</p><p>"But-" Clementine spoke a little louder, like she was objecting her own absolution. "I could've done more to stop him."</p><p>Luke let out a tired, sad sigh. He knew she had been carrying this guilt. He had been too, which was even more unwarranted "No, Clem. You did all you could. Kenny wasn't going to stop." Luke leaned forward a little more to get a look at her. "...you saved my life. Again." She killed her oldest friend. For him. "Thank you."</p><p>Clementine's head tilted down, her sadness welling up again. Kenny. She felt so sad and so guilty, and now <em>betrayed.</em> Her final words to him replayed in her mind. <em>Why did you make me do this?</em> she had asked. He never answered, only apologized. So she asked again, "Why did he make me do that?" Her voice broke, finally. The bottle of emotions she had been holding too long had cracked.</p><p>"I can't tell you, Clementine." Luke put arms around her again, he pulled her in and felt her finally let herself cry. He tried to find the words to comfort her again, but he came up short. What could he say to comfort her, she had taken a friend's life who tried to take his. "...sometimes we can't control the people we love or what they do. And they make mistakes, and do things we can't condone or take back. Stupid things. Hurtful things, to us and other people." </p><p>Nick came to mind. He always did, he never really left Luke's thoughts. When Nick shot Matthew, when Nick got shit-faced drunk, when Nick started a fist-fight with Luke after he got accepted to college, and the dozens of other shit-for-brained mistakes he had made over all the years they'd been friends. Luke thought of his own mistakes. He thought of all the things he'd left unsaid. He thought of when Nick kissed him, and when Luke said nothing. Who made the mistake there?</p><p>"And when they do these things," Luke continued, his voice as soft as the hold he had on her and stokes he placed on her shoulder. "We forgive them. Because we care about them." Luke paused again, he felt Clementine's sobs increase in that moment.</p><p>"I forgive Kenny for what he did to me, because you cared about him." Luke let out that absolution he had been holding in for far too long. "But I can't forgive him for what he made you do. He hurt you more than you hurt him. And when, if, you do forgive him. I will too." Luke took a deep breath in to steady himself, and he felt Clementine fail to hold back her sobs.</p><p>"I've tried not to-" Her sobs and hiccups interrupted her. "Not to think about him- or cry about him. Because of what he did." Clementine had tried to bottle it all down. Kenny did something terrible, Kenny was becoming a monster...did he deserve to be mourned? Could she be allowed to feel remorse and justified at the same time?</p><p>"I know," Luke pulled her in a little closer. "I know you have. But you shouldn't. You loved him, you need to mourn."</p><p>She cried for a while face pressed into the fabric of Luke's coat, so she couldn't be seen. AJ set down on her lap so her hands could hold herself. And they sat like that for a while, even after she had no more tears left in her, she sat with her face hidden into the side of his chest and his chin resting on the top of her head as he held her. Until she decided to pull away.</p><p>Clementine sniffed again and wiped her red eyes off with her hands. She felt better now. The guilt and sadness she had been afraid to feel passed through her, and now she could feel peace, or catharsis. She smiled, and let out an embarrassed chuckle when she realized Luke was still looking at her. "Sorry."</p><p>"Don't be." Luke said, he looked around and offered his sleeve to blow her nose on, which she rejected. "It feels better, right?"</p><p>"Yeah..." She nodded.</p><p>"...Crybaby." He joked, and laughed when he received her retaliatory little punch. "I'm just kiddin'." She smiled too. "You should cry. It's okay to cry. I know you've been holding it back." Luke said. "Don't do that, it's never as scary as you think it'll be."</p><p>"I haven't seen <em>you</em> cry." Clementine jested and wiped her nose off on her puffy jacket's sleeve.</p><p>"That's because I'm a grown man, Clementine." Luke jested and picked up the baby. "We do our crying sparingly and in private."</p><p>"Ass." She chuckled again and wiped her eyes.</p><p>"Hey, how am I an ass?"</p><p>"You just are," Clementine grinned a bit and wiped her nose off on her sleeve again before picking up AJ, who now seemed a little fussy.</p><p>"I think he needs a snack," Luke said. "I can do it if you still need some-"</p><p>"No, it's okay." Clementine picked up the baby and stood up, "I want to."</p>
<hr/><p>Several hours had passed since the group had eaten dinner, even more since that afternoon conversation Luke and Clementine. The young girl went to bed a while ago with AJ, and Luke was walking around the compound late at night. He did that, sometimes, to clear his head, and to continue the old habit of "keeping watch."</p><p>He turned down a hallway near the back offices to be faced by Jane.</p><p>"Luke," Jane uncrossed her arms and looked around behind him. "We need to talk."</p><p>Luke stopped in his tracks only momentarily, then walking past her to dismiss her. He still didn't trust Jane since the shit she pulled with Kenny, and even less after she tried to turn away Randy, Patricia, and Gill. The shit she tried to pull with Sarah wasn't forgotten either. He had been avoidant of her since they got back to the compound, only speaking to her if he needed to. "Do we, Jane?"</p><p>"Luke, I'm serious." Jane's voice raised a bit, but it wasn't with anger. It was anxiety. Something was wrong. </p><p>Luke sighed and turned around to face her. Jane was in charge of the food, maybe something was seriously wrong. "What is it?"</p><p>Jane opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked off to the side and paused in silence. She couldn't say it, not yet. "Let's go to my room." She turned around and began heading to Carver's office. Luke was sightly annoyed, but followed her up wordlessly.</p><p>"Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Luke said as Jane shut the door behind him.</p><p>She crossed her arms and walked over to the desk, she sat on, more leaned. With one hand, she picked at her own fingernails. An anxious habit. Her eyes were looking through the window at the large, empty compound below. Still, she said nothing.</p><p>"Do ya mind tellin' what was so important just a minute ago?" Luke stood with his own arms crossed watching her from across the room. He was getting annoyed the longer she stayed silent. "Fine-" He turned around and put his hand on the doorknob.</p><p>"Luke, don't leave." Jane stood up. Her voice held that similar commanding, pissed-off-ness it did when they got into hot water.</p><p>"Why not?" Luke turned around to look at her again. "Are we outta food? Is someone hurt? Is there a group of bandits on our ass? Is there a lurker in the room with us right now?" Luke was irritated with her. He didn't fight her since everything happened, he didn't want to fight her. But he would be lying if he said didn't want to tell her off. "Those are the only things I need to hear from you, Jane."</p><p>"What <em>is</em> it with you?" Jane snapped. "You've been like this since we got here."</p><p>"What is it with <em>me?"</em> Luke let out an angry, amused scoff. "What is it with <em>you,</em> Jane?"</p><p>"I'm fine." Jane furrowed her brows, she was used to confrontation.</p><p>"Of course you are, you always make sure of that." Luke took a step forward, but they were still feet apart. "Everything you do is for Number One."</p><p>"That's not fair!" Jane uncrossed her arms and threw her hands to her side.</p><p>"Isn't it?" Luke's volume raised as well. "You were the one who joined Carver and left once it became fucking inconvienent."</p><p>"Same can be said about you, asshole!" Jane scoffed, "I helped you out of this shithole through a <em>herd."</em></p><p>"Yeah? Well you wanted to abandon Sarah at the trailer park." Luke said. </p><p>"Sarah was a-"</p><p>"A scared, traumatized fourteen-year-old girl who just lost her father! You wanted to fucking leave her to be eaten." Luke said. "But that's not what you were gonna say. 'Liability' was probably 'bout to come out your mouth."</p><p>Jane clenched her jaw.</p><p>"That's what you told Clementine, right? About Sarah, and the baby?" Luke pointed a finger at her. "You're so caught up in your own ass that you're trying to poison Clementine too with that 'survival of the fittest' bullshit."</p><p>"I'm just looking out for her, okay!?"</p><p>"Oh, is that what you call it?" Luke shook his head. "Is that what you call tryin' to convince a little girl that she needs to fuck <em>everyone else</em> over to survive?"</p><p>"Oh my GOD," Jane pinched the bridge of her nose.</p><p><em>"You</em> were the one who told Clem to abandon Sarah! <em>You</em> were the one who stole from Arvo! <em>You</em> were the one who left us after AJ was born! <em>You</em> were the one who wanted to throw Randy, Patty, and Gill out to starve!" Luke yelled. All his frustrations at her were finally being released. "And <em>you</em> were the one who set off Kenny! A man you knew bludgeoned in Carver's face with a <em>crowbar</em> just a couple days ago! You made him think you <em>killed a baby</em> because you <em>knew</em> he would react like that!"</p><p>"Clementine <em>needed</em> to get away from him! I did it for HER!" Jane was yelling now too, her arms went up and her ace flushed red. </p><p>"No you DIDN'T!" Luke yelled back. "You did it for your own need to make Clementine exactly like you, you did it because you hated Kenny!" Luke took a step to the side, "If you really wanted to get Clementine away from him, you could've <em>waited</em> until she wasn't <em>injured,</em> until we had any food or formula, any transportation, and we weren't in the middle of a <em>fucking blizzard!"</em></p><p>Luke scoffed and threw his hands up. "AJ could've died because of you, we <em>all</em> could've died. What if he hadn't started crying? What if he freezed to death in that car?! What if he freezed or starved to death on the way back?! <em>Hell</em> he was halfway to it!"</p><p>Luke turned to face her again, his voice much quieter and seething in anger. "There's a reason Clementine never lets you watch that fucking baby."</p><p>The room went quiet, starkly quiet. Jane had no response, and Luke felt ashamed of what he said. He was right about a lot of it, but he still felt it was unfair to say. He knew it wasn't really the reason, not the whole reason. He took a step back and faced away from her, she turned away and sat down in the desk chair, on hand holding her chin as she looked out the window. But she wasn't really looking out, she was looking away.</p><p>And then. Jane started crying. She burst into tears in a way she hadn't let <em>anyone</em> see. In a way she hadn't since Jaime died. Just uncontrolled, guilty tears. She knew she did a lot of fucked up things, she regret them, she really did. Having the more recent stuff thrown in her face just made her burst out in tears, especially the things about the baby, given...</p><p>"Jane?" Luke turned approached her slowly when he heard her cry. "I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"</p><p>"No, you're right." Jane choked out. "I fucked everything up." <em>I'm</em> going <em>to fuck everything up.</em></p><p>"It ain't all your fault." Luke said, he came and leaned on the desk just to the side of her, but didn't touch her.</p><p>"But a lot of it is." </p><p>Luke didn't say anything else. Jane soon enough stopped herself from crying, her tears wiped off on her leather jacket.</p><p>"Should...should I go?" Luke asked.</p><p>"No..." Jane shook her head. She still didn't say what she needed to. But now, she didn't know if she had the courage to. "I still have to tell you something."</p><p>"Right, right." Luke nodded. He forgot what Jane even brought him here for.</p><p>There was another long pause, between Luke waiting for her to speak and Jane waiting for the courage to say it. God she didn't want to say it, she <em>really</em> didn't want to say it. She still didn't want it to be true. But if she didn't now, then...when would she? Another time where things were awkward and she didn't want to?</p><p>Jane sniffed again and opened up a desk drawer, pulling out a white, plastic stick with a pink plus sign on the end of it. She dropped it on the desk and slunk back into the chair. "I'm pregnant."</p><p>Luke felt his stomach drop when he saw it, and it imploded when he heard her. No, no no <em>no no no.</em> "Shit." He cursed and looked away. A hand went over his eyes and down his face, stress was building. And guilt. He felt like even more of an asshole for picking the fight.</p><p><em>"I know,"</em> Jane said. "It really fucking <em>sucks,</em> I didn't want this, but now it's real. We can't ignore it."</p><p>"...Not to sound like an asshole," Luke said, "But it's mine, right?"</p><p>That's where Jane went quiet again, but only for a second. She chewed the inside of her cheek and looked right at him. "Probably, you're the last asshole I slept with."</p><p>Luke sighed with clenched teeth and ran his hand over his face again. Right. They had sex, which Luke <em>thought</em> would just be a minor, impulsive mistake he made to try to escape his grief and stress, was now having life-altering consequences. <em>"Damnit."</em> He couldn't even think of another baby right now. With how <em>hard</em> it was to handle, feed, change, and <em>everything else</em> with AJ, thinking about two was just raising the stress in him. </p><p>They did in Jane, too. All these thoughts went racing though her too, but now just played in a slow loop as she went about her day.</p><p>"Who else?" Luke asked. "Who else could be the, um...the <em>father?"</em></p><p>Jane's mouth twisted into an ashamed frown, she bit back at it on the inside of her lips. "Troy."</p><p>"Troy?!" Luke asked with alarmed disbelief. "Didn't you shoot his dick off?"</p><p>Jane let out a dry, amused chuckle. "All two-and-a-half inches."</p><p>"What...why? What did he do to you?" Luke asked. He knew Troy was a son of a bitch, but did he hurt Jane?</p><p>"We made a deal. He'd try to get me out of the pen, and in exchange I'd..." Her words faded out, a faint hand gesture filled in the gap.</p><p>That left a sour taste in Luke's mouth. He never liked that dude, he was such a little crony to Carver. Did all of his dirty work. And other dirty things, apparently. "Well...is it big-headed of me to say I'm the better option?"</p><p>Jane let out an amused exhale through her nose and gently shook her head. A moment later, she spoke up again. "Look...I know we're not close. I know you don't trust me. But I can't do this alone. Any of it." Jane sighed leaned toward the desk with a hand over her eyes. "I don't want to raise a kid in the apocalypse alone. I <em>can't."</em></p><p>Luke let out a slow, deep exhale of his own. Her fears were his own. "And you won't. I'll stay." He put a wary hand on her arm. "We will do our best for this kid, and for AJ. Clementine too."</p><p>"Oh god," Jane groaned, <em>"Raising three kids?"</em></p><p>Luke felt exhausted at the thought of that as well. "Nah, not exactly. Clementine can pretty much take care of herself."</p><p>"Better than either of us do," Jane nodded.</p><p>"I could drink to that." Luke chuckled. Damn, where did the rest of that rum go?</p>
<hr/><p>Jane and Luke talked a while more, going in circles of stress until Luke decided to cut it off and go to bed. He fell asleep, awoken late in the night to the sound of crying from above him. Stifled sobs, still holding back but releasing with gasps. Clementine was crying, she was letting herself mourn. And Luke let her, laying in the bottom bunk. He looked up and said nothing, so she would let herself cry without embarrassment.</p><p>What words could he say that he hadn't already? Words between friends were shared, but he had yet to worry about the words between strangers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hey, hoped y'all liked it! now that the plot is set up mostly we can get to the intimate moments between people that we all came here for.</p><p>idk if the conversations all felt in-character. i tried my best, let me know.</p><p> </p><p>  <del>and leave a comment lol. each individual comment gives me the motivation to write an entire chapter in a night</del></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Blow By Blow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>three updates in three days? inconceivable. <del>please praise me</del></p><p>btw, if you really want the first part to <em>hurt</em> listen to “somebody else” by flora cash, the slowed version. trust me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luke woke up to the sight of Carver's office drop-ceiling and the distinct, sharp feeling of <em>shame.</em> Shame is not an emotion forgien to Luke, and certainly not one he's never felt in connection to Jane.</p><p>They had sex. Again.</p><p>Clementine had already gone to bed, Luke finished his work fixing the barricades for the day, and Jane wanted to talk to him in the office. Plans for the future, something or other. It had been another month since she told him. It was so cold in the building, the warmth of another enticed them both more then they could admit.</p><p><em>"I don't think this is a good idea..."</em> Luke had said as his hands circled her waist. Even then he knew it would be a regret.</p><p><em>"Stop thinking-"</em> Jane said into the crook of his neck before her hands and lips met his face.</p><p>Now he was here, in her bed, cold and alone. And memories of the last time he woke up with someone in his arms rose in his chest and brought tears in his eyes. The familiar ache in his stomach and head was brought back from old memories.</p><p>What was it he had told Clementine? That he did his crying sparingly and in private? Well, before the thought he was being a fucking hypocrite. But now he was right. Luke was letting himself cry over someone now.</p><p>They <em>never</em> talked about it. Any of it. That was Luke's biggest regret. Luke was too afraid to say a fucking word to Nick, and now he never could.</p><p>Nick had been his friend since he was five years old. His oldest friend, and his best at several points in their life. He always knew there was something different about Nick, especially as they got older. As Luke found girlfriends and Nick seemed slow to do so, then almost over compensating. Every relationship his friend had seemed to end because she felt frozen out, and how Nick seemed unhappy in every single one and even more self-loathing when it ended. Nick never seemed happy, and Nick always had a <em>deep</em> unsettlement in himself.</p><p>Luke used to balance him out. Luke could take things better than Nick could, and Nick showed more of himself to Luke than anyone. Nick would get spiteful when Luke would go off and do things without him, especially with girls. When Luke got accepted to college, Nick got shit-faced and started a fist-fight with him because he was leaving him behind.</p><p>They didn't talk for a while after that… And at college, Luke figured it out. Just himself at first. He finally let himself breathe. For so long he held back his <em>thoughts</em> about other boys. He was from rural Tennessee, thoughts like those weren't exactly promoted. But here, at art school, Luke got his first opportunity for that to be okay. </p><p><em>Bisexual.</em> That's what he was, as a friend explained it to him. He liked girls, he liked boys. He liked girls a lot more than boys, but still. He liked Welcoming the New Millennium New Year kiss, he liked his short-lived relationship with his sophomore year roommate, he liked his hookups and flirtationships he allowed himself to cultivate there. But only there. He knew once college was over and he would move back home to the real world, he would have to hide that part of himself. Live life as normal, leave that part of him in the past and bottled on the inside. Find a nice girl and be happy with her. And that is what he did, for the most part.</p><p>He figured out Nick later, probably before Nick ever figured out himself. Maybe Nick never did. While Luke got to go to art school separated from his family and everyone from their community and be himself away from them, Nick stayed home and worked. Nick was never allowed to find himself.</p><p>Then the world ended. Nick and Luke were together when the saw the first lurker coming down the street in town. At first they thought someone had too many drinks, until it got closer and tried to bite their faces off. Until more lurkers followed behind. The two rushed to Uncle Pete's house and got the guns, then to Nick's mom's, then to Luke's parents. They were on the run for a while, and lost Luke's parents very near the beginning, before any of them knew how bites worked. It crushed Luke, but he now thinks it might've been for the best. His parents wouldn't have to see the world get this way.</p><p>They kept running, the four of them. They kept running into walls and outta energy, scatterbrained and terrified as everyone was in the beginning. A year couple months in and they met Tavia, and met Carver. Well. The story gets slow there.</p><p>Howe's was a good place at first. Carver was harsh, but his rules and orders kept them safe. That first winter only three people died. Then those people from Georgia joined in. Oh...Bonnie.</p><p>Luke feels embarrassed by his relationship, if you can call it that, with Bonnie. He'd always been a flirt, especially with redheads. Bonnie was eager as well, and Luke liked being desired. He always seemed to use women to distract himself. It was a clumsy, embarrassing little affair, but thankfully quite short lived. As the community got bigger and Carver began creating a slave compound, many wanted to leave for one reason or another. He asked Bonnie to escape with them, but she valued her safety more.</p><p>So, Luke was on the run again, but the group then much larger. Alvin, Rebecca, Carlos, and Sarah had joined, doubling what they came into Howe's with. The eight of them wanted to get as far as they could. They got to the top of North Carolina before they found the cabin and kept themselves hidden. All went well.</p><p>Until Sylvia got bit. And Nick had to put her down.</p><p>Sylvia had always been a good mother. Luke thought so, at least. Their town did. When her husband became a deadbeat leaving her with their one-year-old son. Pete stepped in and was a much better father than the sorry excuse of her husband. But both of them were strict and quick to criticize. They loved him so they wanted to set him on the right path.</p><p>She raised him right, she raised him the good Christian way. The good Bible-study-and-church-every-Sunday way. Luke was raised much the same way, he enjoyed the memories of Pastor John's wife baking for them and them all singing Bible story songs. He didn't enjoy the memories of the demands for them to renounce "promiscuity and sexual perversion" before Luke even knew what that was. Sylvia wanted to set Nick on the right path so badly she failed to understand why he felt unhappy in her lines. She wanted to worship the Lord so badly she failed to see how she was harming her son.</p><p>And when she died, in a way, Nick finally felt he could be free.</p><p>Luke remembers the first night without Sylvia. He woke up on the floor to the sound of Nick crying in the bed above him. There wasn't enough beds for everyone in the cabin, Nick and Luke shared the room and swapped nights. Nick was hyperventilating, crying so hard he could barely breathe. His sobs choked him so hard he couldn't get the words out when Luke started talking to him.</p><p>That first night without Sylvia was the first night Luke climbed into bed with him and held Nick so tightly in his arms he could feel his heartbeat. Luke stayed with him, talking to him to try to calm him down, to let him know he felt the same pain.</p><p>And for the weeks afterward, when Luke would hear him crying, he would come into the bed next to him and hold Nick as he mourned. And when Luke had the bed for the first time since her death, he woke up to Nick climbing in next to him for comfort. Luke would give it to him.</p><p>Soon, neither were crying anymore, their familiar mourning no longer a roiling, gaping pain. And in the night they would hold each other, never speaking a word. </p><p>Then there was the night Nick kissed him. Then the nights he kept kissing him. Then the nights when it was more.</p><p>In the mornings, they never talked about it. Luke tried, once. When they were alone in the woods, and Nick got angry and told him not to say a fucking thing. So, Luke never said anything. In the daylight, Luke's once friendly touches on the shoulder or hands now became invasive to Nick, only to be warmly received in the dark privacy of their room. Only in the dark and in secret Nick allowed himself to be seen. To be vulnerable.</p><p>Then Clementine showed up and Pete died. Nick went further into his spiral of depression and self-loathing that Luke couldn't pull him out of. The nights from their cabin bedroom became far away as they went on the run from Carver. Then things really went to shit…</p><p>And Nick died.</p><p>He died when neither of them had yet said a word to each other about what their friendship had become. What Nick was finally allowing himself to be. Before Luke could say the million things he had left to say to him. Before either said <em>I love you.</em></p><p>Luke did love him. Nick was the closest thing Luke ever had to a brother. Someone who had been by his side since he was five years old, who he shared everything with. But what they had done together in secret...he didn't know if he loved him like that. And now he could never know.</p><p>And the ache of uncertainty, longing, and regret was what Luke could never shake. It's what could keep him up at night the most. It's what haunted his memories of times when things were better, or people who were no longer there. It's what kept him crying alone in the cold bed of a woman he didn't love.</p>
<hr/><p>It was a while later when Luke finally got himself together. He got up, picked his clothes off the floor, and wiped his face clean. He waited a while until it wasn't so red to try and find anybody, he didn't want to be asked.</p><p>He found Clementine sitting around the firepit with AJ in her arms and a pot of oatmeal. "Hey, Clem." Luke sat down and dished himself out a bowl. The pot was mostly full, that was weird. Usually everyone would have eaten breakfast by now. Maybe it was a slow day?</p><p>"Hey, Luke." Clementine yawned. "Where where you last night?"</p><p>"Oh, uh..." Embarrassment panged in his chest. He didn't want to tell her about Jane, they hadn't told her anything yet. "I couldn't sleep."</p><p>"Me neither." Clementine said, it was then he saw the bags under her eyes. "AJ kept crying all night."</p><p>"He did? Again?" Luke said. It was troubling. AJ was two and a half months old now, and Luke couldn't believe how much he'd grown already. That little, tiny baby Rebecca gave birth to was now ten pounds, he could move his arms on purpose, he could laugh, and use facial expressions to show what he wanted. "I'm sorry about that, I coulda helped." On nights he was behind fussy, Luke usually found ways to calm him down. And when feeding, changing, or holding him didn't work, he could hold him outside so Clem could get some sleep.</p><p>"It's okay," Clementine nodded.</p><p>They were quiet for another minute as both ate their breakfast, but Luke had another question. "Have you seen Randy or Patty?" Luke looked around the large room, it felt so <em>unusual</em> he hadn't seen them yet.</p><p>"No. I made breakfast today, and I only saw Jane." Clementine shrugged.</p><p>"Huh." Luke said, his brows slightly knit together. Something felt off.</p><p>Clementine yawned again, and rubbed her eyes. She was so exhausted. <em>Babies are hard work.</em></p><p>"Clem, go get some sleep." Luke set his bowl down and held his arms out. "I can watch 'im."</p><p>"Mmm...okay." Clementine nodded sluggishly and passed the baby over to Luke. As AJ got bigger and healthier, her anxiety about letting him slowly began to ease.</p><p>"Hey lil man," Luke smiled to AJ, who responded a happy little coo. "'Night, Clem. Or...mornin'?" Luke said to her as she walked back to the men's bunk to get some shut-eye.</p><p>Now it was just Luke and AJ.</p><p>Luke, not wanting to let a meal go to waste, served himself another bowl. He held AJ in one arm and ate slowly with his other, and put the lid on the pot so it wouldn't go bad.</p><p>AJ let out a long coo, his squeaks more expressive than a lot of grown folks' words.</p><p>"Oh, yeah, tell me about it." Luke chuckled.</p><p>He liked AJ. Well it's not like anyone shouldn't like him, he's just a baby. But Luke did. He felt like a part of his family already, like a nephew or such. He could see the resemblance to Rebecca in his tiny little face already. God, he knew if Alvin was here he would be doting on this little boy non-stop. He wished they were here.</p><p>Luke had been thinking a lot about family these days, reasons should be obvious. First of all, Luke lost his family now. His parents were gone, and Nick, Pete, and Sylvia were all gone now too. Luke already lost a sister, and he didn't know if his other was still alive somewhere out there. He hoped so, he may not like her husband but he knows that he could keep her safe.</p><p>And, of course, he was going to become a father soon enough as well.</p><p>It felt weird...unbelievable in a way. Back when the world was still together, Luke always knew he would have kids. He liked them well enough, and what else would life look like? Get married to a nice girl and have a couple kids. That's what life looked like for everyone around him, at least. But now the world went to shit, and bringing another person into it seemed cruel. Raising a child in this world seemed <em>impossible.</em> Clementine was hardened and broken by it all, AJ was an orphan days after he was born. Is that what Luke should expect for his child?</p><p>It was his child. Most guys would try to weasel their way out of it, but he knew. It was between him and a sadistic dead man. It was between helping Jane with a baby or letting her and that innocent child struggle on their own. It was between the arms of woman he barely knew or an empty bed for him to mourn alone.</p>
<hr/><p>"Fuck, fuck, <em>fuck FUCK!"</em> Jane kicked the side of a cardboard box in the inventory room. "Fuck..." her voice broke.</p><p>It was gone, almost all of it gone. The food, the medicine, the guns, the bullets… She checked the greenhouses, all the seeds and fertilizers were gone. She checked their room, all sign of the family gone as well as the blankets. She checked the parking lot, and one of Carver's working trucks was gone and left tracks in the snow. Tracks she followed until her hands went numb in the cold. </p><p>It was the dead of winter, and the family had abandoned and stole everything from them. Everything that Jane had counted on, that they <em>all</em> had counted on. To think she was beginning to <em>trust</em> Patty, she let Patty have the keys to it all. To know now that Patty's trust in her had been a lie? That she and her husband had been planning this possibly for as long as Jane has known them?</p><p>"Fuck." Jane entered the inventory room again and began recounting everything that was left. They left all the baby formula, thankfully. It was the least they could do, really, above <em>not</em> stealing everything from the beginning. And the diapers, as few as there were left. Beyond that, well… There wasn't much. Possibly a weeks left? More if they skipped lunches.</p><p>It took a couple hours for Jane to pull her face together enough to find Luke and Clementine. It was already hard for her to do that this morning after she and Luke did what they did last night, but this made it exponentially more difficult.</p><p>It was later in the day, the sun past noon. She found Clementine and Luke with the baby out by the fire, AJ on his stomach on a blanket, kicking his legs and holding his head up. It made her heart ache.</p><p>"Jane?" Clementine stood up and took a step towards Jane. She had been worried all day.</p><p>"Jane! What the hell is going on?" Luke asked. After Clementine woke up from her nap and Luke still hadn't seen anyone, the two of them scoured the entire compound. No one in sight.</p><p>"They're gone." Jane said. Her voice was sudden and angry.</p><p>"What?" Luke asked, even though he hadn't seen him he found it hard to immediately accept. </p><p>"They're <em>gone."</em> Jane said, she crossed her arms. Her anger broke for a second, melting into exhaustion from the world. "They took everything and ran. They must've done it at night, when none of us were looking..."</p><p>That's when it hit Clementine and Luke. The people they had lived with, worked with, for <em>months.</em> They had betrayed them.</p><p><em>"No..."</em> Clementine closed her eyes and flinched. She had been betrayed again, she was out of food again. The two months of relative peace she had felt here were gone.</p><p>"No, no." Luke shook his head, a hand went to the bridge of his nose. He should have known. He should have <em>known</em> something was wrong. "What happened? Jane, how much is left?"</p><p>Jane looked at the fire, then up to his brown, stressed eyes. "Maybe a week's left, I don't know..."</p><p>A collective rush of panic and complete sting of betrayal hit them. They were fucked. The family thoroughly doomed them.</p><p>"Shit." Luke cursed. </p><p>All of them fell into a quiet, all except AJ who started fussing. Clementine picked him up, and with him in her arms, she spoke up next. "We need to leave."</p><p>"Huh?" Luke asked. Even though they didn't have food, this place was still safe. It was fortified.</p><p>"We don't have any food, and I'm sure Carver has scavenged everything out of here and the surrounding towns to get those supplies." Clementine continued. "Howe's is safe for now, but soon it's gonna be a target. People build walls to protect things, bandits are gonna want what we don't have."</p><p>Clementine's well-articulated point absorbed quickly into Jane and Luke. As did her practicality. She had stopped being a little kid far to long ago if she thought like that.</p><p>"You're right." Jane nodded. She uncrossed her arms. "Where do we go?"</p><p>"Back to the cabin?" Clementine looked to Luke. "You set up ways to live off the fish there. And it was safe."</p><p>"No." Luke shook his head. He couldn't go back there. Not without all the people he lost. "No, we can't… We'll never find it. It's too far."</p><p>"So...we run." Jane spoke. Run like they all had at some point, looting whatever houses and stores they found on the way. "We take one of the trucks and everything we have, and we go."</p><p>With no other plan, that's what they did. Before sunset, the four packed in every last battery, bandage, blanket, bullet, and can of beans they could find. Jane and Luke tied a tarp down over the truck bed, and Clementine climbed in with AJ in the backseat. After a last, short dinner in this place that was once their prison, and once their safe haven, they took off.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this one kinda hurted tho. the tragic nuke really hit me my dudes.</p><p>well the story is mostly set up now, next few chapters are them on the road with their broken hearts getting closer.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Springtime for Dandelions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey! sorry this chapter took a while. the last ones all had a pretty set plot, but when i looked at the chapter plan for this one it just said "it's springtime they do stuff." very helpful past me, thanks. my computer also broke and i just got my new one.</p><p>also i think i need a beta reader. mostly to help bounce ideas off of and to help with the flow of my writing in places it gets awkward, let me know if you're interested.</p><p>it's also quite long. enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jane doesn't know how, but they made it through the winter intact. Since they left Howe's, they rarely stopped driving. In new towns or neighborhoods they came across, they would loot every building they came across and pray there was no one who claimed it already. Food was sparse to find. Couple bags here, couple cans there. Barely enough to get by, but enough. Most nights Jane or Luke would forsake their dinner so the rest could have enough. Luke, mostly, saying something to Jane about how it's important for her to eat. Clementine would try to give up her meals, but they never let her. She needed it more than anybody.</p><p>With a lot of sacrifice and a little luck, they made it through winter. It was early spring, the snow was thawing and the freezing temperatures became just chilly. Snowdrops and crocuses began to line the roads beside them, and yellow dandelions poked out of the potholes. It was around late March now, Luke said, he had been keeping track of the days. Which made AJ four and a half months old now. And Jane four and a half months pregnant…</p><p>They still hadn't told Clementine. With the stress of just trying to find enough food, Jane didn't want to even think with another mouth to feed. And it's not like there was much privacy for her and Luke could talk about it in the confines of their truck, Clementine always in the backseat. It would just have to wait. With spring around, things would get better.</p><p>Right then they must have been somewhere in Kentucky. The maps they had were of Tennessee and the Carolinas, but Jane was sure they passed a "Welcome to the Bluegrass State" sign a while back. They came across a small town. Now, they've been wary of towns since there's always some asshole claiming it's theirs, and usually if one building was looted it was a good bet the rest of them were. After they checked two houses and came up empty, they decided just to siphon the gasoline in the abandoned cars and pass on.</p><p>However, on the road out of town they came to a road block. A tree fell right in the middle of the road. Jane stopped the truck and turned it off, which woke up Luke in the passenger seat and had Clementine look up from AJ.</p><p>"Is there a way around it?" Clementine asked. She set AJ down on the seat next to her in a pile of blankets that had become his bed.</p><p>"Not that I can see," Jane straightened up in her seat to get a better look at the tree. It looked like a young oak, the log no thicker than a salad plate. "I think we could move it out of way. Let's go," Jane unbuckled herself and stepped out of the truck, Luke followed suit. Clementine, though, was held up by a fussy AJ.</p><p>His boots hit the gravel road only a few steps before he came to the log. It wasn't a big tree, it barely stretched to the end of the road. "I'll grab this end, and we can just swing it to one side of the road. Sounds good?"</p><p>Jane nodded, and the two adults crouched down and pushed the tree to one side of the road. Before they could turn back around, a voice from behind them spoke.</p><p>"Now what are you folks doin'?" It was a gruff voice, loud and commanding. When they turned around, Luke and Jane were met with the owner. A tall, large, bearded man with green eyes, and a rifle in his hands. Instinctively, their hands slowly went up.</p><p>"Hey, man. We ain't gonna cause you trouble." Luke clenched his jaw and his heart started pounding. They couldn't get robbed, not again.</p><p>"We're leaving. This is the road out, we won't bother you." Jane nodded, she held tense eye contact with the large man.</p><p>"Just leave us alone." A small but stern voice behind him had the man turn around. Clementine was behind him, a silent AJ in her arms and a gun pointed at the man.</p><p>"Hey, now." The man raised his thick eyebrows in surprise. He bent over and set his rifle on the ground. "I didn't mean to cause no grief. You can put the gun down, girlie."</p><p>All took a step back from each other and set their hands down. Clementine put her gun back in the waistband of her jeans, her eyes still on the man studying her.</p><p>The large man looked at Clementine in the baby in her arms. He hadn't seen another group in a while, kids even longer than that. "The name's Abraham. Me and my mother live out in the woods over there," he nodded off to the side of the road. "You folks look like you could use a meal, why don't you come on down?"</p><p>Jane and Luke looked between each other, and at Clementine. They knew better than many that a friendly gesture could be a ruse.</p><p>Abraham seemed to pick up on their hesitation, "C'mon, we don't bite. Just a little Southern hospitality." He looked back at Clementine. "We ain't in the business of hurtin' people. Especially kids."</p><p>Abraham bent back down and picked up his rifle, holding it in a way it was tilted down at the ground. He began walking into the woods behind Jane and Luke. "Well. You comin?"</p><p>The three looked between each other intensely, none moving. Abraham shrugged and began walking off a little more. Once out of ear shot, Jane whispered. "I don't think we should. Let's just get in the truck and get out of here."</p><p>"I dunno..." Clementine shrugged meekly. Her stomach growled and ached from emptiness. "He says he has food."</p><p>"They always do, Clem, that's how they get you to get close enough to steal everything you got." Jane glared back behind her.</p><p>"Hey, hey," Luke put a hand up at Jane. "He just seems like a nice guy willing to help us out. I say we go."</p><p>"Um...yeah. Let's go." Clementine nodded. "We don't know when we'll come across food next. He seemed nice."</p><p>"Ugh," Jane hesitated. "Fine. But we bring our guns and lock the truck."</p><p>And so they did. The four quickly caught up to Abraham. "So, you folks <em>are</em> comin'." He smiled.</p><p>Soon enough they approached a campsite. There was an RV with a campfire pit and two lawn chairs set around it. "Momma? <em>Ma?"</em> Abraham approached the RV and knocked at the door, and soon an old woman opened it.</p><p>"Abe? I was just takin' a nap." The old woman rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them she saw the group of hungry strangers standing behind him. "Now who are these?" She asked him.</p><p>Abraham set his gun down by the steps of the RV after his mother stepped out. "Found them by the road. They were lookin' skinnier than a garden of bean poles so I thought we could help 'em out."</p><p>The old woman approached to get a good look at them, but they also got a good look at her. She appeared to be in her seventies, also tall like her son, but her hair a thin gray rather than his thick black. She was dressed in a pink sweater and a jacket. "Hi, there. My name is Maude, this is my son, Abe." She smiled.</p><p>"Hi. I'm Luke." He held his hand out, Maude shook it gently.</p><p>"Jane." Jane nodded, but kept her arms crossed.</p><p>"I'm Clementine. And this is AJ, uh, Alvin Junior." Clementine said.</p><p>"How old are you, sweetheart?" Maude smiled at Clementine. Like her son, she hadn't seen children in a while, and a baby not since before.</p><p>"Eleven." Clementine said, she shifted AJ's weight in her arms. </p><p>"And how old is this little one," Maude looked down at AJ, she held her arms out. "Can I hold him? I'm good with babies."</p><p>"He's four months old." Clementine said, but she shook her head and held AJ closer when Maude asked to hold him. The old woman nodded and dropped her arms back to her side.</p><p>"Well he's cute as a button," Maude took a step back and turned to get back in her RV. "I'll start a pot of rice 'n’ beans for us, why don't you folks get comfortable? Start a fire."</p><p>Abe brought them some of the logs he had chopped and they built a warm fire. However, Maude was cooking with the propane stove in the RV. Clementine went in to help her, trying not to remember what happened the last time she was in an RV. Abe talked to Jane and Luke, filled them in on how he and Maude had been stuck here since last winter. Abe explained he didn't mean to threaten them back at the road, he was just out hunting when he came across them. Just before lunch was served, Luke and Jane pulled the truck off the road and into the campsite, just across the fire as the RV.</p><p>The six of them had lunch, the first warm meal Clementine's group has had in a while. And they ate like it too. Luke thanked them profusely, and after him Clementine and Jane did too. During lunch, they also spoke of near-future plans.</p><p>"Luke, after lunch you should come huntin' with me. We could get some real meat for dinner," Abe clapped a firm pat on Luke's back.</p><p>"Well, I'm more of a fisherman, but I've caught a few animals in my time." Luke nodded.</p><p>"And girls, me and Abe have scoured through most of this town, but there are a few buildings we haven't touched yet." Maude spoke to Jane and Clementine. "That strip mall over on Maple Avenue and the office building a block over didn't seem like they would have much in it, but you two should comb through. You never know."</p><p>"Ah, a real 'hunter-n-gatherer' situation here, huh?" Abe laughed at his own joke, Maude joined in, and then so did Clementine and Luke quietly. Jane just rolled her eyes.</p>
<hr/><p>Jane stepped over a skeleton as she got out of the truck in the strip-mall parking lot. "Clem, come on, we want to head back before it starts to get dark."</p><p>"Okay, okay!" Clementine said, she finished loading the last bullet into her gun before hopping out of the truck.</p><p>The two approached the strip mall, and it was clear why Abe and Maude skipped this place originally. There was window glass all around the outside of these stores, it looked like they were looted very near the beginning when everyone thought this would be over soon. The electronic store was smashed wide open, and it's shelfs all completely empty of flat-screens, cellphones, and radios. There were two clothing stores, both seemingly spared of the chaos apart from the broken-in windows and mildewed clothes left in piles.</p><p>They first entered the electronic store, thinking there could be some spare batteries left somewhere in the back. But no, the place was wiped clear. "Damn," Jane shook her head and shut the drawers in the back stockroom. "Not even a USB cable. Just a single CD." Jane picked it up and slipped it in her pocket.</p><p>"Yeah..." Clementine shrugged. They crunched the broken glass on their way to the next store, but Clementine kept her eyes down and her arms crossed. She was worried, clearly anxious. Jane could tell.</p><p>"AJ is okay, Clem." Jane put a hand on her shoulder. "Maude has him. He's much safer with her at the campsite than here scavenging with us."</p><p>"I know," Clementine sighed. She uncrossed her arms and shrugged Jane's hand off. "But still...I don't like not having him."</p><p>"I know, I know." Luke had told Jane. Not the details, that was private. He just said that Clementine had seen a baby die before and she didn't want that to happen to AJ, so they should let her take care of the baby. "He's gonna be okay. Don't worry about him."</p><p>Clementine hummed an uncertain tone. The two walked through the threshold of the next store over. A clothing boutique, likely wouldn't have anything of value but one should always check. </p><p>Jane saw that Clementine was still unsure. "You're a good mom, Clem. You take good care of him." Jane meant it, she really did. For an eleven-year-old in the apocalypse, Clementine was impressively good at taking care of AJ. Hell, she was better than Jane thought she could ever be herself… She hoped she could be as strong as Clementine when the time came.</p><p>Jane walked to the back door. Still locked, that's a good sign. "Hm...Clem, can go get the crowbar from the truck? I'll look around while you're gone."</p><p>Clementine nodded, and left for the parking lot. While Clementine was gone, Jane looked around the store. As she thought, nothing they could really use. Mostly clothes, that by wind and rain had been clumped together in piles on the floor. The ones nearest to the broken storefront windows were the moldiest, not to mention covered in glass. Jane looked through the drawers at the cashier's desk. Empty, the cash register busted open and cleared. However, there was a box of tissues behind the desk. </p><p>"At least we won't leave completely empty handed." Jane held up the tissue box for Clementine to see and set it on the counter. "Now, let's get this door open."</p><p>Clementine brought the crowbar over and handed it to Jane. Jane wedged it in the door, and began to push, but to no avail. "Clem, push with me?" Jane asked. With both their efforts, the door busted wide open. And a walker right out.</p><p>"Shit!" Jane yelled. She pushed Clem out of the way behind her then backed up herself. Jane reached behind down into her knife sheath, but before she could get a firm hold on the handle the walker lunged forward. She dropped the knife, instead grabbing it's arms and pushing it back. "Clem! Help!"</p><p>Clementine sprung to action. She rushed down and grabbed the crowbar, and whacked the walker on the side of its head, sending it to the floor. Hands now free, Jane stepped out of the way, and watched as Clementine smashed it's skull open with a couple more hits.</p><p>Clementine dropped the crowbar and stepped away panting. Her eyes went wide, and her shoulders hunched over. Images of Carver and Kenny came back to her.</p><p>"You got it, it's fine." Jane came over and braced her from behind. "Thank you..."</p><p>"Y-Yeah." Clem gulped and shook her head. She looked over at the now open door, she wanted to look anywhere but that walker's busted head. "Let's go."</p><p>Clementine walked with Jane behind her into the backroom. It was dark, Jane pulled out her small flashlight to get a look around. It seemed all that was back here was extra stock. Dry, clean clothing.</p><p>"It's not food," Jane shrugged, "But can't say we don't need it. Luke's shirt has more holes than he has fingers to put them through at this point, and I think you're getting too tall for your jeans." Jane said, Clementine looked down at her ankles to see what she meant. "Come on."</p><p>The two went rooting through the boxes, finding a couple things that could suit them. A new shirt for Luke, some jeans that fit Clementine if she wore a belt and cuffed the hems, and Jane picked out a couple things for herself.</p><p>She knew that she was starting to show. Because the winter was so hard and they didn't have a lot to eat, and what she did eat she had to hold back from puking up, which wasn't easy when trapped in a truck that smelled like baby puke, B.O., and exhaust. Jane was sure she lost weight. Now that spring was around she must be in her second trimester, well… Her leather jacket felt tight and her jeans were too skinny for her to wear much longer.</p><p>Jane took off her clothes and changed, Clementine turned around and looked away. Jane put on a new, black long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans that fit with a belt. Clementine turned around as Jane unattached the knife sheath from her old pants and cinched it back onto her thigh. "Yeah. This will do." Jane brushed herself off and zipped her jacket back up. "Let's find you a new shirt."</p><p>After looting one clothing store, they went off to the one next door. Luckily, no walker was in this breakroom. This store was for children, it seemed, and babies.</p><p>"Hey, for AJ." Clementine smiled, she found a package of pacifiers and a couple toys. </p><p>"Yeah, that'll be good." Jane nodded. "Look around for diapers. I am <em>sick</em> of washing out his cloth ones. It would be nice to get a break." Clementine nodded with amused understanding.</p><p>While it had been hard in the winter to find food for them, it wasn't a problem for AJ. Thank god, one thing about this baby that <em>wasn't</em> difficult. Carver had stocked up on formula. He didn't expect Rebecca to be too <em>cordial</em> with co-parenting. There was enough to take him though the winter, and more for a couple more months. But after...they tried not to think about that yet.</p><p>Jane was looking through the back, she found a box of onesies. Pink and purples, clearly for baby girls but in the apocalypse she wouldn't let gender roles get in the way of survival. She picked out a few for AJ, ones his size or that he would go into. Underneath a few, she found one that made her freeze.</p><p>Newborn size, with the name "Jaime" embroidered in a loopy little script across the front. Oh, god. That just made her heart drop.</p><p>While she tried to ignore it, she couldn't. Even though she couldn't talk about it, her mind floated off on long drives where no one was talking. It thought of the future sometimes, in dismal and rarely positive ways. Like what she should name her kid; honoring Jaime's had come to mind. Mostly, her mind drove down memories. She could remember her and Jaime playing with baby dolls when they were little, then when Jane stopped and teased Jaime for it because she was a "big kid" now. She could remember being a kid and being so <em>angry</em> at her mother that she swore she wouldn't be like that with her kids. Then she decided she didn't want kids, back when the world was still normal. Her own parents fucked her up enough that she never wanted to make them grandparents or inadvertently repeat the past. Jaime too. Jaime said she'd rather be a fun aunt, and Jane would say "That's <em>never</em> gonna happen" with all the cynical, arrogant certainty she always had for her sister</p><p>Well. She was wrong, and now she was having a baby at the worst possible fucking time. In the apocalypse with a guy she barely even knew and two other kids to take care of. The irony.</p><p>She thought her IUD would last. She got it before all this happened. That's why she was stupid enough to have sex with Luke, even dumber for <em>Troy.</em> She thought nothing could happen to her, that she was invincible as long as she was alone. But she wasn't alone now. She wasn't alone in the sense of the baby, yes. She couldn't feel it moving yet, but she knew it was there. It's presence burned into the back of her skull. But even before that she wasn't alone anymore. It was when she met Clementine. </p><p>At first, Clementine reminded her so much of Jaime. That sweetness and that sadness felt so familiar to Jane. The way Clementine kept it all down felt the same as the way Jane remembered Jaime doing so when Mom and Dad would fight each other again and again. The way Clementine tried to hold Kenny inline reminded her so much of how Jaime would always try to temper their father, even though neither deserved it. Jane wanted to save her.</p><p>But as Jane learned more about Clementine, she saw more sides of her. Resilience that Jaime never had, her strength. Things Jaime never had and now, now that she’s dead...things that Jane realized she had <em>resented</em> her sister for lacking this entire time. Jane resented her for giving up, for leaving her alone in this world. Until Clementine.</p><p>Clementine wasn't Jaime, of course. Jane could never replace her sister...but...she now thought of Clem as one.</p><p>"Jane?"</p><p>Jane must have held that onesie for quite a long while, she felt like she was snapped out of a dream when Clementine said her name again. “Huh?” Jane balled up the onesie into one hand, and with the other wiped her eyes. When did they tear up? “What is it?” Jane turned around and looked at Clementine.</p><p>Clementine was wearing a new shirt, a navy and gray striped long t-shirt. It fit better than her old one. In her arms she held a box full of supplies. “I finished looking through those boxes. Are you done?” Clementine noticed Jane looked like she would cry, and she wanted to snap her out of that. She saw the onesie, she knew.</p><p>“No, sorry,” Jane turned back around, “I got distracted.”  Jane quickly pawed through the last few boxes. “It’s just toddler clothes, AJ isn’t big enough for it yet.” Jane turned over one box into another and put what she had found into it. </p><p>“I like your shirt, it matches your hat.” Jane said. Clementine’s hat was grimey and stained. Jane would have suggested finding a new one, but she could tell it clearly held sentimental value; Clementine never took it off.</p><p>“Thanks…” Clementine said, she took the compliment but there was a tension building up in her. Especially when she saw Jane take the clothes too small for AJ. The suspicions she had felt for months now was true, and Clementine was terrified.</p><p>“Jane?” Clementine asked, her voice serious and scared. “...Are you pregnant?”</p><p>Jane froze in her tracks. <em>Fuck, fuck fuck fuck.</em> Jane didn’t want to have this conversation, not yet not ever, really. Clementine figured it out, of course she would, she’s a smart girl. Jane took a deep breath and leaned onto the wall next to her. “Yeah, Clem...I am.”</p><p>“Oh.” Clementine looked down at the floor, her shoulders began to slump over and her jaw clenched, unable to hold back a frown. “No… <em>shit.”</em> Clementine set her box down and came closer to Jane, surprising the woman with a tight, desperate hug.</p><p>“Uh-“ Jane balked, her hands went up to her sides in surprise at Clementine’s sudden sad affection. But she relaxed, and put her arms around Clementine as well. Her little body was so tense. “Clementine?” Jane asked, but she didn’t get a response for a long moment. It felt like Clementine was holding her so she wouldn’t disappear.</p><p>After a while Clementine finally pulled away, she sat down by herself on a chair in the back of the room, and had hands over her eyes. Jane watched her go over, and hesitated before going over herself. “...What was that about?...” Jane said, her voice rather subdued.</p><p>“I...I had a friend who was pregnant once.” Clementine sniffer, stubbornly wiping the mere beginnings of tears between her eyelids.</p><p>Jane nodded solemnly. “Rebecca, I know…” She nodded, she thought she knew. In a way, she did. </p><p>“No, not Rebecca…” Clementine shook her head. Rebecca died from complications after childbirth, Clementine was there and saw her suffer. But she had also seen Christa suffer, in a way so different and familiar, and for much longer. Clementine has seen her give birth and her child come out okay, but the suffering of a different outcome. It felt a mother and child couldn’t coexist in this world anymore…</p><p><em>“Christa.</em> After my friend Lee died, she took care of me. She had a baby and-“ Clementines voice hiccuped and she stopped herself, pushing the heat in her face down into her stomach. “She didn’t die. The baby died. It got sick and it died and she wasn’t my friend anymore.”</p><p>Jane’s eyes opened with some clarity. What Luke has said before but didn’t detail. Why Clementine wouldn’t let go of AJ. She didn’t want to repeat the past she felt responsible for. “That’s not your fault, Clem.”</p><p>Clementine shook her head, her eyes on the ground in shame. “Yes it <em>is…”</em> She felt responsible for what happened to Christa’s family. She got her husband killed, and maybe if he was still around their little boy would've been healthy, he would've taken care of them in ways Clementine was unable to. Maybe Christa would’ve still liked her.</p><p>After Omid died, Clementine knew Christa blamed her. She didn’t say anything, but those looks and the absence of eye contact burned into Clementine’s memory, she had never felt such rejection before. Clementine felt scared, she held it all in.</p><p>She had seen Christa kill a little girl almost her age right in front of her in retribution. That planted fear into Clementine that grew like vines, contorting her muscles and holding her mouth shut and eyes down. She tried everything to get her approval again, without Omid’s humor it was impossible to get her to smile anymore.</p><p>Then the baby came, Clementine was never so useless and couldn’t help at all. They spent the whole night in that abandoned building with walkers out the door, the best Clementine could do was keep her mouth shut and watch. The baby was born, a boy, into his mother’s hands as she squat terrified and alone behind a counter. He cried and cried, and never stopped crying. Until he did.</p><p>That’s when Christa went silent too. She marched on like the dead herself, pulling Clementine’s hand behind her. Clementine spent a year in silence. Christa would only speak about what they had to do, how to survive. Tired demands from a tired woman to a tired girl. When Clementine got more competent, sometimes Christa wouldn’t speak to Clementine at all. She would ignore Clementine’s pleads to hear her voice. Sometimes, when it got real bad, she wouldn’t look at her. She would stare off at the path in front of them, not as a way out, but as Jane put it <em>a forced march through hell.</em> Unlike Jamie, she pushed on, with a little girl in tow.</p><p>Clementine couldn’t stomach the thought of Jane fading away from her like Chirsta did. Of losing a friend the same way. “I got her husband killed. Then her baby died because I was too useless.” Clementine’s voice hardened, and she looked up at Jane with certainty, a sworn promise. “I’m never gonna be that <em>again.”</em></p><p>Jane had held her breath, chills went down her spine and her heart felt pierced. What terrible things Clementine seen that she only shared few words of. Jane didn’t even know how to respond, for a long moment she just looked at the wall beside her in shock and sorrow. “Clem…” Jane exhaled a sad gasp. “That’s not <em>your fault...</em> You were just a kid.” Jane came closer to hold Clementine, it was her turn now. </p><p>Jane could spot the pain of rejection, self-blame, and inability to get approval related to a mother figure from a mile away. So why had she not seen it until it was right in front of her face? “Clementine, I’m not Christa. I’m not Rebecca. Our situations aren’t the same. I’m going to be <em>okay,</em> and we are going to do everything we can to keep AJ and this baby <em>safe.”</em> Jane pulled away and looked straight into Clementine’s hazel eyes. “And <em>you.”</em></p><p>They stayed in that back room for quite a while. Clementine, for the first time in months, allowed herself to cry. And for the first time, allowed herself to cry about Christa. About the friend she had lost twice, a friend she now realized she didn’t want to find for a long time...</p>
<hr/><p>They hit the jackpot, the motherlode.</p><p>After leaving the strip mall and cleaning themselves up, they looped around to the office building. It was nearly untouched, seeing a place so intact felt so odd. In the chaos of everything, no one thought that regular office buildings had much to offer in the ways of survival. They were right, at first, but over time what is forgotten becomes invaluable.</p><p>At first when they looked around the desks, they didn't find much. They picked up a notepad, a couple pens. It wasn't until they got to the break room that they found it.</p><p>A vending machine. A beautiful, half-stocked vending machine. Meant for people who didn't bring lunch. Now, it was their dinner.</p><p>Jane smashed open the glass, and they grabbed it all. The chips, the crackers, the wrapped up candy that had surely gone stale. They got it all, so elated and excited they shared a six pack of rock-hard Oreos on the way back to camp.</p><p>It wasn't just Jane and Clementine who got lucky, but the men too. When they got back to the campsite, they saw the reward of Luke and Abe's hunting trip. A beautiful ten-tip buck was hung from a tree, a bucket of blood and innards underneath it.</p><p>Butchering the buck that night was a massive undertaking, and the amount of meat they had needed to be eaten quickly. It was a feast of venison and Fritos, who knew it could taste so good together? All ended the night stuffed and happy, and sat around the fire talking to one another for a long time.</p><p>Abe and Maude tilted their lawn chairs apart to create more of a circle around the campfire, and two large blankets were laid around the other sides for the group to sit. AJ lay on his back grabbing his toes, all wrapped up in a new onesie. Jane sat with him, and Clementine and Luke were on the other blanket listening to Abe recount the story of he and Luke’s catch.</p><p>“Your friend here pointed out the buck, then shot right past it!” Abe laughed, Luke’s misfire was so comically off it made an experienced hunter like him crack up. “Had to stalk it around again before I could get the shot.” He took another sip of his beer. He had been saving the case for a special occasion, and a feast with new visitors felt like the one.</p><p>“Well. Told you,” Luke chuckled as well, “I’m more of a fisherman.” Luke rolled the drink around in his hand before taking another sip.</p><p>“Must be a lousy one, fishermen are meant to wait until the right time to strike.” Abe shook his head, and Clementine smirked a little.</p><p>“Now, now, stop hasselin’ the young man.” Maude said to her son. “You’ve got decades more experience huntin’ than ‘im.” </p><p>“Sorry, Ma.”</p><p>Maude smiled and looked back at the RV. “Well, I should get to bed. So should the little ones.” Maude looked at Clementine and the baby, then spoke to the young girl. “You two should come on in. The RV has a heater, and it’s safer from the <em>deaduns.</em>”</p><p>“Uh, I don’t know,” Clementine looked over at Jane. </p><p>“It’s okay, sweetheart. Just bring your sleepin’ bag with you.” Maude looked between Jane and Luke with a little glint in her eyes. “I think your friends would like a night to, uh... <em>catch up</em> with each other.” She tried to put it in a child-friendly way.</p><p>Jane and Luke both made startled, nervous laughter. </p><p>“Oh, we’re not-”</p><p>“He’s not my-”</p><p>They both interrupted each other and went quiet, which made the rest of them all laugh.</p><p>“I am so sorry,” Maude put a hand on her chest to settle herself. “That is on me for assumin’.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck and looked at everyone’s faces. He was glad that the campfire was too dim for them to see his embarrassed flush.</p><p>Jane took another swig of her beer to put on her solid face. “It’s fine.”</p><p>“Glad to hear it.” Maude nodded. She stood up and opened the door to her RV. She looked over at Clementine again. “Just come to bed when you’re ready, dear, you can sleep in the eatin’ nook.” Maude nodded, “And don’t keep that baby in the cold for too long.”</p><p>Once his mother was gone, Abraham laughed again, Clementine giggled with him. She sounded like a kid again, just for a second.</p><p>Abe readjusted himself in his seat, and picked up the bag of chips from under him. “Who knew there was still food in that building. Good find, girls.” Abe complimented them. “So, what else did y’all find on your trip?”</p><p>Jane rolled her eyes a bit at his slight chauvinism. “There were some clothes still in good condition back at the strip mall. Me and Clem changed already.”</p><p>“There was a kid’s store,” Clementine said, “They had stuff for toddlers and babies too, so we got some stuff for AJ.” Clem nodded, she picked up AJ to show off his new onesie. It was green, with a polka dot pattern.</p><p>“Other than the food, the office didn’t have a lot. We got some pens and paper, though. It might come in handy.” Jane added.</p><p>“What kind of paper?” Luke asked. The only thing more boring than driving in silence in the van, was sitting in the passenger’s seat with nothing to do. Maybe he could practice drawing again.</p><p>“Just a notepad.” Clementine shrugged.</p><p>“Perfect,” Luke got up and headed over to the van to get it. He brought back the notepad and a pack of pens. He broke open the pack and set the rest down, then started sketching. What he was sketching was not yet known to him, he just wanted to put pen on paper. “I’m getting rusty, if I don’t practice then I’m lettin’ my art degree go to waste.”</p><p>“Art degree? Son, that’s already a waste.” Abe laughed again, Luke nodded in agreement.</p><p>“I know, I know.” Luke shook his head, “The most help it could’ve been in all this is kindling, if I still had it on me.”</p><p>The group chuckled again.</p><p>Jane picked up the package of pens he set down, “Huh. This is the exact brand me and my sister used to give ourselves stick-and-pokes back in middle school.”</p><p>“A what?” Clementine asked.</p><p>“Stick-and-poke. It’s a kind of tattoo, the kind young rebellious kids give themselves while simultaneously giving themselves an infection.” Jane rolled up the sleeve of her pants, “Here’s mine, it’s really faded now, though.” Just above her ankle was a faded gray stain. “It’s a frowny face.”</p><p>“I thought it was a <em>bruise.”</em> Clem shook her head.</p><p>“Yeah, well, it looked a lot better back then. At least clearer.” Jane dryly chuckled and rolled her sleeve down. “Jaime’s held up better. It was her boyfriend’s initials.” Jane chuckled again, thinking about how Jaime had her middle school boyfriend’s initials on the inside of her foot. “That ink lasted than their relationship.”</p><p>“Initials?” Clementine looked down at AJ, then off in thought. “Can I get AJ’s on my hand?” Clementine held her hand out for Jane to see.</p><p>“Nooo, no. What?” Luke looked up and set down his notepad. “Clem, you’re not getting a tattoo.” He shook his head.</p><p>“Why not?” Clem furrowed her brows.</p><p>“Because you’re <em>eleven?”</em> Luke added.</p><p>“That’s the age I got my ears pierced.” Jane shrugged. “And I wasn’t much older when I did my tattoo.”</p><p>“Ear piercings are different.” Luke shook his head.</p><p>“Are they really though?” Jane shrugged. “Clem can do what she wants with her body.” Jane backed her up.</p><p>“Thanks, Jane.” Clem nodded.</p><p>Luke sighed. “Okay, I guess.”</p><p>“Yay.” Clementine smiled, “So how do you do it?”</p>
<hr/><p>Once they got started, Luke left. He didn’t like seeing Clementine hold back her pain, and he didn’t like seeing Jane poke her with a needle dozens of times. He walked over to a picnic bench at the next campsite over and lit his own fire to draw by. Abe himself went to bed not long after, Clementine could hear him snoring even outside the RV.</p><p>“Hey,” Jane came over and sat by Luke.</p><p>“Is she all tatted up now?” Luke asked.</p><p>“No, we just finished the A before she went to bed.” Jane crossed her arms and leaned back, the table pressed against her spine. “It’s not that big of a deal, Luke.”</p><p>“You shouldn’t give kids tattoos, Jane.” Luke pressed his words. “It ain’t right.”</p><p>“Oh. You think it will limit her employment options in the future?” Jane creased her brow. “Or think it’s going to make her parents mad?”</p><p>“Jane-” Luke’s eyes widened. “Don’t say that.”</p><p>“Listen, Clementine can’t be a kid anymore. So I stopped treating her like one.” Jane said. “If she <em>has</em> to make tough choices, I’m not going to stop her from making inconsequential ones. If she wants a tattoo to show how much she loves AJ, I’m going to let her have it.” Jane said firmly. But she knew that wasn’t the only reason Clementine wanted that tattoo. She loved AJ, of course, but she was afraid she would still lose him, and wanted something to remember him by.</p><p>Luke sighed and turned to face the fire with her. “Fine, I guess you’re right.”</p><p>“I usually am,” Jane shrugged. Now that he was facing the same direction, she looked at what he was drawing. It was a cabin. Was it the one they had lived in to escape Carver? There was a pause for a while as Jane watched him add details to the trees.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me about Christa?” She asked quietly.</p><p>“Uh...I never met the woman myself. I met Clementine after they were already separated.” Luke continued to draw, but slower. “At first Clem was pretty adamant about finding Christa, but then all that shit with Carve went down, and she just stopped talking about her.”</p><p>“...Christa had a baby. Clem told me today, at the stripmall.” Jane said. “Did she tell you?”</p><p>“Yep.” Luke nodded. “That’s why she never lets AJ go.” He let out a sad exhale.</p><p>“I figured.” Jane nodded. They went quiet again, before Jane worked herself up to tell him. “She knows, by the way. I guess I wasn’t too subtle with all my pulling over to vomit and stealing newborn baby clothes, but she knows.”</p><p>“Oh.” Luke stopped and looked at Jane. “Shit...how’d she take it?”</p><p>“Not well. I think she’s more terrified than I am.”</p><p>“You’re gonna be okay.” Luke said, it was almost a reflex at this point.</p><p>“I told her that too, don’t think she buys it,” Jane said. “Hell, I don’t think I do.”</p><p>“Jane?”</p><p>“Every mother figure she’s seen since this all started died. Every one I’ve seen, too.” Jane shook her head, her face began to feel hot. Were those tears? “I just...don’t see how I’m going to be the one who makes it. You know?”</p><p>“...Jane?” Luke hadn’t seen her vulnerable like this in a long time. He set down his notepad and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she stood up before he could.</p><p>“We found you some clothes.” Jane quickly distracted the subject. “I’ll go get them.”</p><p>“O-Okay?” Luke raised his eyebrows. He was concerned, but Jane didn’t want to talk about it.</p><p>She walked back to their truck and got the things they found for him. Leaving gave herself the chance to regain her composure, and when she was back she acted like nothing happened.</p><p>“Here.” She dropped them onto the table and crossed her arms. “We didn’t know your size, so I guessed.”</p><p>Luke made a confused face, but stood up to look at them. A new pair of jeans, and a dark green long sleeved shirt. “Yeah, I guess I do need some new clothes.” He looked down at his shirt and saw all the blood stains, those of walkers and his own. And the new, fresh blood from butchering dinner soaked up his arms. He unbuckled the machete sheath from his chest, and pulled his shirt off over his head. He held the old garment in his hands for a second, then walked forwards to drop it into the fire.</p><p>It sizzled for a moment, and then smoked and cindered around the edges. He picked up a stick to poke it and help it catch flames better. When he turned around, he saw Jane behind him, and she walked into his chest.</p><p>Her hands went over his shoulders, and her lips up his neck before meeting his own. At first he was surprised, but then he let it happen. Without thinking about it, one hand went to her waist and the other unzipped her jacket. </p><p>Maude was right, maybe they should “catch up.”</p><p>Jane shrugged off her jacket and dropped it on the bench behind her, which gave Luke the opportunity to pull her shirt off over her head. She took off her bra and he cupped her breasts in his hands and their lips met again. By his belt she pulled him to the table, and he sat down on the table behind him. She pulled off her pants, and pushed him back on the table as he undid his own.</p><p>It was quick and sloppy. Jane rode him, one of her hands held onto the back of his neck and the other fingered her clit. He sucked on the side of her neck and tried to pull what short hair she had. Both tried to keep their moaning down so no one would hear, but it felt too good to let it out. God, it had been so long. They always found themselves in each other’s arms out of desperation.</p><p>It was over almost as soon as it started. He came, and shuttered in her hold, she pulled herself off of him and finished herself soon enough. And that was it. She pulled her clothes back on, and walked off to the truck without a word. Luke sat there in stunned silence for a moment, before cleaning himself off and doing much the same.</p><p>Jane was right about his size, by the way.</p><p>He got to the truck, and she was pretending to be asleep in the reclined driver’s seat facing the wall. He lay down in the passenger’s seat, and pushed it all the way down. But instead of pretending to be asleep, he looked up through the skylight. It was hard to see any stars.</p>
<hr/><p>They stayed with Aberaham and Maude for a couple more nights. It was a nice break from the road, but both groups had their journeys ahead of them.</p><p>“We’re from Missouri.” Abe had said to them as he was packing the RV. “We heard about a place called Wellington, that’s why we came all the way up here.”</p><p>“Wellington?” Clementine asked. She looked at Maude for answers. “Did you find it?”</p><p>“Yes, we did.” Maude said. “But they didn’t let us in.”</p><p>“It was <em>real...”</em> Clementine looked down at the ground. “My...my friend might be there.”</p><p>Luke and Jane shared a guilty glance, but continued to pack the truck.</p><p>“Oh, sweetheart...they weren’t letting no one in.” Maude said gently. “They was at capacity, said they had to turn everyone away.”</p><p>“Oh...” Clementine said softly, Maude put a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“We’re gonna head down to Texas, it’s warmer down there, and we assume less deaduns in the rural areas.” Abraham spoke again. “Do you folks wanna come with?”</p><p>“Texas?” Luke perked up. “I…I have a sister that lives there.” He hadn’t had contact with her since this all happened. If she was still alive, she was the last of his family…</p><p>“You do?” Jane asked.</p><p>“Where in Texas?” Abe questioned.</p><p>“Corpus Christi.” Luke said. “Her husband was an Air Force officer.” Her husband...his family didn’t like that man. Thought he was too old for her. In turn, she ended up speaking to the family less. Before all this, they still hadn’t seen each other in about a year.</p><p>“Military officer?” Abe nodded, “I assume they’re safe in a bunker or base somewhere.”</p><p>“Yeah, I thought so to...” Luke nodded. He figured she was either safe, or dead. Just as everyone else was. He didn’t know if he wanted to find out, or if it was worth the trek to learn she was dead or he couldn’t see her. Most likely, he wouldn’t even know. She could’ve died in the very beginning, or gone on the run like him. How could he find her after all this time?</p><p>“Well, you wanna come with?”</p><p>Luke paused, and then shook his head. “No...I don’t think so.”</p><p>“We were talking about North Carolina.” Jane said after she closed up the trunk bed. It wasn’t exactly true, but with what Luke said about how many river fish he was able to catch there, it seemed like a good option.</p><p>“Well. Then I guess this is goodbye.” Maude said. The last of their things were in the RV, and Abe had got it running.</p><p>“It was good to meet you folks.” Abraham came forward and gave Luke a handshake. </p><p>“You too. Nice to know there are still nice people out there.” Luke firmly shook his hand and pulled away.</p><p>Clem came forward and gave Maude a hug, the old woman hugged her back. </p><p>“Thank you for everything.”</p><p>“No, sweetheart, thank  <em>you.”</em></p><p>That was goodbye. They pulled out of the campsite together, then split out on the road in different directions. The drive was silent at first, but then Jane inserted the CD from the electronics store. For the first time in a long time, they could hear music.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tbh if i had planned this chapter after i got to 420 hits, they definitely would've found weed. smh. also, were abraham and maude good characters? they were just ocs i made up on the fly for this, but they weren't intrusive, right?</p><p>also, I'm realizing a lot of my chapters end with them just leaving places. huh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bites On Above</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey, new chapter. this one felt awkward to write so it's a bit short. you'll see what i mean.</p><p>if this chapter is deleted and re-uploaded with major additions don't be surprised lol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Spring was moving by well enough. It wasn’t easy, nothing was ever easy, but at least the last two months haven’t brought them more grief. </p><p>They had made a loop around the Cumberland Gap, now somewhere in the Valley and Ridge region of Virginia. They had been scavengers, going town to town or house to house getting anything they could. Surprisingly, this still made them a living. Perhaps people thought there wasn’t much out here in rural small towns. They were right, there wasn’t; but the four of them didn’t need much to survive.</p><p>They tried to avoid people as much as possible. Even if their brief co-habitance with Maude and Abraham was pleasant, most people weren’t too kind. Even if they were, they could die on you. Or, horribly, vise versa. In rare instances driving on the road they would pass another car. Jane would urge them to keep going, but when Luke was at the wheel he would stop the car and talk to them.</p><p>It turns out, some people need more than just food or bullets. The blankets, clothes, bags, and other mundane things that they also looted from houses could be traded. Three blankets for a can of beans, a tent once forgotten in an attic could fetch them food for a week. Things were looking up for them, for the first time in a while the weight of it all rested easier on their shoulders.</p><p>Clementine seemed happy, the happiest Jane or Luke had ever seen her. She could smile more, she could talk to them around a campfire about simpler things and laugh at jokes earnestly. If it wasn’t for the responsibilities she took upon herself, she almost seemed like a kid again.</p><p>Luke and Jane were more at ease. Yes, in the night the past and those they lost would still keep them awake, but in the day they could move on more easily. Luke accepted what Jane had thought she did a long time ago; there was no going back, the past was best laid to rest even if it would rattle in its grave. They were more cordial with each other, hell, even fucking <em>friendly.</em> They could have conversations that weren’t tinged with accusatory hostility or tired desperation. When it was Clementine’s turn to keep watch, sometimes they could hold each other in the shared tent without saying a word.</p><p>It confused Luke. Were they friends now? Surely they had to be something more if they kept fucking each other and had a <em>baby</em> on the way.</p><p>It confused Jane. Luke was nice; he could be charming. He was dependable and reliable, proven to be someone she could trust if such a thing still existed. Before all this, Jane could never imagine herself with someone like him. But now?... Things were different now. She couldn’t do this alone. Maybe he was someone she could love, if she could allow herself to.</p><p>Clementine figured out that Luke was the father pretty quickly; she was a smart girl of course she did. She saw the way he would spare some of his food for Jane and the way he felt extra hesitant when Jane would take out some walkers. The way he would talk about the new baby with a little more… <em>anxiety</em> than he did AJ? It felt somewhat obvious after he and Jane got along more, and she just asked the question so bluntly one night around their campfire. Luke balked and rubbed the back of his neck, Jane just nodded and answered. And that was that: she knew. After months of them trying to piece together how to say it to her, they no longer needed to.</p><p>Luke was still keeping track of the days, but on the road they seemed to blend together. As nearest as he could figure it was to Easter he wanted to celebrate. Now they didn’t have plastic egg shells or a bunny costume or a church sunrise service to head down to, but they did have an eleven-year-old and a couple butterscotch hard candies and he would be damned if he didn’t try to give her an egg-hunt. Really, they stopped at a pitstop that still had spring wildflowers and hid the butterscotch in some tall grass and let her root around for them. It got cut short when a walker showed up and Clementine had to take it down.</p><p>Clementine wouldn’t admit it, but she felt embarrassed by the event. She felt too old; it was a waste of time. However, she appreciated the gesture and the trouble they went through to try to give her a little bit more childhood. It reminded her of when Katjaa got the Motor Inn crew to give her and Duck some semblenece of a Halloween, they went room to room collecting individual Skittles because that was all they had. Lee helped make her “costume”; she was a cat, and the permanent marker he drew on her face made those whiskers last a week. The resurfacing of that memory made her quiet the rest of that night.</p><p>AJ was healthy, growing like a weed. It was hard to believe he was already six months old. He was babbling now, and would bounce on Clementine’s knees when she held him up. He liked to play peek-a-boo, and he would grab at anything within his reach. He wasn’t crawling, but with the amount of time he spent trapped in a van it’s no surprise. Watching him grow and thrive made them all happy and filled him with hope, both existentially (with that old mantra of “children are the future” and his survival proving that humanity still has one) and in more relevant ways (if they were able to take care of him, then Jane’s baby would be alright).</p><p>There was one problem with AJ, though. The kid ate too damn much and they didn’t have much formula left. Rarely they found a container or two of Similac in an abandoned house’s nursery, but that wasn’t enough to supplement what was left of Caver’s hoard. None of them knew when he could start eating real food, but the fact he still had no teeth seemed like a good indication he wasn’t ready.</p><p>But as one problem became apparent, a solution seemed to present itself to Jane. One she wasn’t very enthused for.</p><p>As her body prepared for her own child, she began to lactate, and her resourcefulness thought she shouldn’t waste the opportunity to make their lives a little easier and increase AJ’s chances at surviving infancy. </p><p>It wasn’t exactly milk at first, she knew that, it felt thinner and it was more yellow in color. Still. When she first noticed it, she took advantage of it. When AJ needed to eat and she got the opportunity to go off somewhere alone and try to breastfeed him. He didn’t latch at first, which was only natural. Jane wasn’t his mother, this felt like an overstep on all ends and Jane felt he must be as weirded out by this as he did. Eventually he did learn to latch, and it provided some benefit. It didn’t fill him up, but now he needed less formula. That was something, that was enough for her to keep going. </p><p>She usually did it at nights, when they were asleep in the tent and AJ would start crying. No matter who’s turn it was on watch, she would trade and offer to feed him. In mornings or days when they lingered around their campsite before heading off down the road, she would take him to the tent to feed him.</p><p>It didn’t take long for Clementine and Luke to assume what she was doing, but neither wanted to intrude nor ask. It was a weird situation. Hell, their entire group was somewhat of an odd situation but they didn’t comment on that either. </p><p>So they just lived ignoring it. Until Luke came back with Clementine after a mid-day hunting trip and came into the tent faced with it. </p><p>Jane was topless with AJ in her arms and her large denim jacket draped over her shoulders. She had to ditch her leather jacket months ago, it no longer fit and the gash Kenny had sliced into it was unmendable. Her head jerked up to see Luke, and instinctively pulled her jacket more over herself to cover up. She also put in a pissed-off face, another instinct of hers, and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Oh Jesus-sorry” Luke looked straight down, then out the sides of his vision. Where should he look? How the hell was he supposed to play this off?</p><p>“Just get in,” Jane waved her hand and craned her neck to see if Clementine was looking in. She wasn’t. Good. “It’s <em>fine.”</em> Jane adjusted her shoulders and pulled the sides of her coat to cover herself even more.</p><p>“Okay, okay.” Luke zipped the tent up and sat facing the wall. He felt like he should get out, he wasn’t sure of the right thing to say. “It...it doesn’t hurt, right?” <em>Well that couldn’t be it.</em></p><p>Jane made a puzzled face from behind. “What?”</p><p>“Nevermind- that’s stupid. Forget I said any-”</p><p>“It doesn’t. It’s just… <em>weird.”</em></p><p>Luke nodded with an agreeable scoff. That was an understatement.</p><p>They sat in awkward silence for another moment, until Jane spoke up again. “Didn’t you need something?”</p><p>“Oh! Yeah,” Luke said, “Clem caught a rabbit, I needed to get the skinning knife.”</p><p>“She did?” Jane began rooting through the bag next to her. “Good for her. She’s getting better at that.”</p><p>“She is.” Luke nodded. He was proud of her, but he wished he didn’t have to teach her to break its neck. He felt a small thud behind him and reached back, the knife was now in his hands. “Thanks-”</p><p>“Just go.”</p><p>“Got it.”</p>
<hr/><p>It was after a dinner of rabbit stew and Luke avoiding eye contact that Jane thought to bring it up again. Clementine could tell when people were being weird and <em>would</em> ask, so to Jane it felt best to nip this in the bud. Doubly helpful that Clementine went to bed and Luke said he’d take first watch.</p><p>“Hey,” Jane crossed her arms and sat down on the ground next to him. “We should talk again.”</p><p>Luke cleared his throat and poked more at the cinders of what remained of the campfire. “About…?”</p><p>“You know, jackass.”</p><p>“Right.” He turned his gaze away from her and back to the fire.</p><p>Jane let out a curt exhale through her nose. “It’s weird. I know. But it’s saving us. AJ doesn’t eat food yet and we’re running out of formula. I’ll have to do it for ours soon enough, and I’m not going to stop just because-”</p><p>“You don’t have too.” Luke cut off Jane’s defensive ramble. “I get it, we don’t have a lot of options. If it makes our lives just a little easier, all power to you.”</p><p>“Oh…” Jane said, she turned to look at the cinders too. “Good.”</p><p>They went quiet again, as they often did. Luke continued to poke at the smoulders, and Jane loosened her arms and watched. Eventually her hands dropped down into her pockets, and she could feel the baby kicking. She chose to ignore it, she often did.</p><p>Jane was still doing everything she could to distance herself from the baby. Tried not to think of herself as a mother, tried not to love it because she was afraid it would get taken away from her. Jane didn’t think she would be a good mother, she thought for sure that this kid would end up dead within the year. If it did survive it would surely grow up to resent her like she resented her own mother. God, she knew she would fuck this up.</p><p>Luke felt differently. It was bad timing, and not an ideal situation, but he always thought he’d end up having kids one day with some nice girl. It’s what he had been expected to do his whole life. Jane isn’t exactly what he had in mind, but neither was the world ending. He cared for the baby already, he wanted to be excited and ready for it, but Jane made him feel distant. Jane didn’t exactly let people in emotionally, unless they were little girls that reminded her of her dead sister. Well, pot and kettle.</p><p>“‘Ours’?” Luke looked up.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You said ‘ours.’” Luke said, his voice was even and quiet. “You usually just say ‘the baby’ or ‘the kid.’”</p><p>“Huh,” Jane looked away from him and gazed at the glowing cinders. “I guess I do...”</p><p>Another pause. “We should name ‘em,” Luke spoke again, “I don’t know...seems like the right thing to do.”</p><p>“I guess,” Jane shrugged.</p><p>“Well. Girl or boy?” Luke asked. </p><p>Jane bit the inside of her lip. “I dunno. I have the feeling it’s a girl.”</p><p>“Really?” Luke raised his eyebrows up at Jane a bit. “I do too.”</p><p>“It was just me and Jaime growing up, so maybe I just can’t imagine it being a boy.” Jane shrugged. </p><p>“Me neither. I had two sisters.” Luke smiled, but it held a bit of pain. “Hannah and Rachel.”</p><p>“Oh.” Jane nodded. “Which one lived in Texas and married the army brute?”</p><p>“Hannah.” Luke responded. Hannah was the eldest of the family. She carried herself with the most responsibility. She was more pious than her siblings, she paid closer attention in Bible study and did more with their church. She was a “fine young woman,” as their pastor said, “any man would be lucky to have her as a wife.” That’s what she wanted to be when she grew up. First a nurse, then a wife. She ended up only halfway through nursing school when she met her husband, a man older than her, and was whisked away off her feet. She seemed happy. Luke wishes he got over himself enough to keep in better touch.</p><p>“Where did Rachel live?” Jane asked.</p><p>Luke took a gulp in, the smoke stung his throat a bit. In a soft voice, he answered. “She was laid to rest in the cemetery outside Trinity Presbytirian Church.”</p><p>“Jesus,” Jane said, which instantly made her cringe a bit. In this world, they had all lost someone, many someones, but it sounded like Luke lost her in the world before. “...what happened?”</p><p>“Car accident.” Luke limply shrugged. “It was a long time ago, before all this.” He was just a kid, not much older than Clementine. Rachel was more rebellious than her sister, which is probably why Luke had more fun with her. She was the middle child and the youngest girl, so she did get more free reign than her sister. Luke remembers when she would sneak into town wearing the clothes her parents and Hannah didn’t approve of, she would bring him back candy if he did her chores around the farm. She wanted to be a city girl, she would always watch old rom-coms and talk about how one day she would work at a hoity-toity company New York one day. Rachel had more fun than her sister, but also more secrets. None of them knew where she was sneaking off to that night, they didn’t know she was gone until Dad got the call his truck was found crashed by the side of the road. And that was it. His sixteen-year-old sister was gone. Not soon after, so was his nineteen-year-old sister. He was used to being the only boy, but...not the only child.</p><p>“That’s...that sucks, Luke.” Jane tried to be sympathetic.</p><p>“It’s okay,” he smiled again in a strained way. “Jane, it was ages ago. I’m fine.”</p><p>“Okay.” Jane nodded, her eyes lingered on him.</p><p>“So...” Luke tried to change the subject. “Do you want to name the kid after anyone?”</p><p>“I thought about it.” Jane said. “Like. Naming the kid ‘Jaime’ would work for a boy or girl...but, I don’t know. It seems like a bad omen now.”</p><p>“I get that.” Luke nodded. He didn’t want to name the kid after someone either. There were so many people he lost, the name would be a mile long. “Any other ideas?”</p><p>“Well…’Hannah?’ ‘Rachel?’ <em>‘Luke?’”</em> Jane said, “Those are all pretty Christian names. What were you again? Baptist?”</p><p><em>“Presbyterian”</em> Luke said. “But honestly...I don’t think I believe in any of that anymore.” Luke shook his head. It was hard to keep faith in a world like this, especially faith he hadn’t held strongly at any point in his life. “At least, not the specifics.”</p><p>“‘Specifics?’” Jane cocked an eyebrow. Her family wasn’t religious growing up. What did her dad call it? ‘Twice-a-year Christians’?</p><p>“You know. Heaven, Hell, Rapture.” Luke shrugged. “Seeing the dead walk around kinda makes it hard to believe in an afterlife, and the world is already a bit like Hell itself. And if God meant to save the good people, he sure left a lot behind.” A cinder under his stick went out, the light dimmed around them even more. “I don’t know...we’re off topic again.”</p><p>“Right. So, no names in honor of anybody and no religiously meaningful names. Got it, cross those off the list.” Jane tried to joke, she smiled and watched herself dig her heel into the dirt below her.</p><p>Luke chuckled slightly in response. “And I don’t think we have many memories as a couple, so no ideas there.”</p><p>That made Jane laugh. Luke looked at her in the dim, dying firelight. She looked pretty, and happy. He leaned back to kiss her, and she kissed him back. It was short but nice. She could be someone he could love, if he learned to and waited. But that’s not how love works, and he knew that.</p><p>“Well.” Jane smiled after he pulled away. “Then I am straight out of ideas.”</p><p>“Really?” Luke questioned. He thought every girl had a list of baby names in the back of her head. His classmates and fellow congregants did, his sisters did, especially Hannah.</p><p>“Yup.” Jane nodded and leaned back onto her hands.</p><p>Luke sighed. “Um...I had one, but it’s-it’s kinda silly.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“It’s not a name, really, it’s an idea.” Luke shrugged. “We name the kid after where they’re born, wherever that ends up being.” He looked at Jane to explain himself more. “If we’re always on the run, and we have no idea where this kid will end up in the future, then their name can tell them how far they’ve come.”</p><p>Luke waited for a response, but he didn’t get one. Jane stared at him, reservation in her eyes.</p><p>He dropped the stick he had been poking the cinders with into the remains of the fire. “Told you. It was silly.”</p><p>“No, no,” Jane tilted her head, she cocked a small smile and shrugged. “I kind of like it.”</p><p>Luke smiled too, and looked away back at the tent. “You should head to bed, Jane. It’s late, you don’t have watch yet.”</p><p>“Nah,” Jane shook her head slowly, eyes looked over towards him. “I think I’ll stay here with you for a bit.”</p><p>Luke looked at her tenderly, “...that sounds nice.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so that's about as close to fluff as i get <del>which y'all deserve for what i'm about to do in the next chapter.</del> was it good?</p><p>that is how i imagine luke's family. idk it felt right. he seems like someone who had older sisters.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Again From Another</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm just going to start this off with a major trigger warning. without spoliers, this may be upsetting and graphic for some of you <del>but this is twdg so you should be accustomed to that</del></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They all felt hesitant to say it, but lately, life had been… <em>good?</em></p><p>As good as it got, really. It was now June, the air around them was getting hot and muggy the way it did during North Carolina summers. They finally got there, just barely. At the moment, they were at another campground on the very border between North Carolina and Virginia. There was a large lake, dammed up as a reservoir. It was remote, they hadn’t seen a walker out here in days, and once Luke discovered fish in the lake they decided to set up camp for a while.</p><p>It was beautiful and serene, in that way that fresh air and trees reflected on mirrored water eternally always had been. When they looked out on the water, it felt peaceful in a way so rare to find these days. In a way that felt rare even in the time before the dead roamed.</p><p>They all tried to make the best of their time there. Good moments could be fleeting, holding onto them and enjoying as much as they could kept people alive in ways food couldn’t. Jane had taken up the habit of swimming, she got Clementine to join her a couple of times.</p><p>First time she did it Luke was out checking fishing traps. She was just so hot and sweaty from the mid-June heat and hormones, and her back hurt from carrying AJ and her own baby. The cool, serene water just felt so enticing. </p><p>“Jane, don’t go out too far!” Clementine watched Jane anxiously from the shoreline with AJ in her arms, pacing nervously and calling out to Jane to ask if she was okay or to watch out every few minutes. </p><p>“Clem, it’s <em>fine.”</em> Jane called back, but she listened to the young girl’s anxiety and swam up closer to the shore. She slicked back the wet hair on her head, it was longer now, almost to her ears. “Come in, it’ll cool you off.”</p><p>Clementine let out an unsure little noise. Last time Clementine was in the water, she learned that walkers could be down there as well. </p><p>“Come on, Clem,” Jane implored her, “You can hold onto me.”</p><p>So that’s what Clementine did. She took off her jeans and her shoes and stepped into the water with just her underwear and t-shirt on. AJ was left on the shore within their sight.</p><p>At first, Clementine hugged tightly the shoreline and Jane’s arm. But when no threat emerged, she began to relax more. It had been so long since she swam. She took off parallel to the shore in a backstroke, Jane was impressed. She began to remember the summers in her backyard pool. Her dad taught her to swim, and her mom would invite over school friends for her to play <em>Marco Polo</em> or <em>Sharks and Minnows</em> with...how did she forget that? Those childhood memories of a home so long forgotten...</p>
<hr/><p>”You two went swimmin’?” Luke asked when the girls recounted their day by the fire.</p><p>”Mhm.” Jane nodded, with her hands and eyes she focused on pulling out the fishbones of the grilled fish they prepared for dinner. </p><p>”It was really nice. You should come tomorrow, Luke.” Clem invited him, AJ near asleep in her arms.</p><p>”I’ll have to take you up on that.” Luke grinned.</p><p>He tried to. He really did want to.</p><p>Luke remembered the days when he and his sisters would go out to the creek and splash around as kids. When he, Nick, and some other boys would play Tarzan on the rope tied to the overhanging trees. </p><p>He did want to cool off, but when the water hit his waist he felt frozen. He felt cold, dead hands around his ankles and the overwhelming feeling he was being pulled down. He felt his throat instinctively close off and hold his breath.</p><p>“Luke?” Clementine looked behind her when she didn’t hear him follow in anymore. He looked pale.</p><p>“I’m just gonna head to shore,” he cleared his throat in a tense cough. “Check the traps again. Y’all go have fun, now.”</p><p>”Okay...” Jane said to him, the two watched as he made his way to the shore and back to the campsite.</p><p>Both made a note to ask him about his sudden departure from an activity he seemed excited about, but neither got the chance. After they came back and ate their lunch, Luke was acting as he always did. Joking, making conversation, and, now more than ever in his life, plans.</p><p>“Hey, Clem.” Luke titled his head to the side to make eye contact with the girl as she ate. He was on his back raising AJ up with his arms, he rocked and raised him, making whooshing noises for the boy. The baby boy was giggling, enjoying himself. “I was thinking I should teach you how to fish, it’d be good for you to know.” One day, Luke feared he wouldn’t be by her side and she would <em>need</em> to know. “How ‘bout you come on down to the dock with me after lunch?”</p><p>“Sure,” Clem nodded, her cheek full of half-chewed fish.</p><p>Jane agreed, it seemed important to teach Clementine anything that would help her survive. But she couldn’t help but poke a bit of fun at Luke. “What, you don’t want to teach me too?” Jane raised an amused eyebrow.</p><p>Luke looked at her as he sat up, then grinned and chuckled when he saw she was joking. “Jane, I don’t mean to offend, but you lack the patience of a master fisherman.”</p><p>Jane chuckled and shrugged in amused agreement. Joking with each other and taking light digs seemed to have become a part of their… <em>comfort</em> with one another. Their undefined “relationship” started with distrust and scrutiny of one another, and it seems a remnant of that had turned into a new form somewhat resembling fondness.</p><p>Jane remained at the campsite while the two were gone, that had become a more common occurrence the last few months than she wanted to admit.</p><p>Jane hated being weak, and she hated being <em>seen</em> as weak even more. Old insecurities from childhood transformed into an independence complex, and now in this new world that now felt like a means of survival. It was, but she wasn’t stupid enough to go waltz around and attract walkers when she was seven months pregnant.</p><p>Not did want to be waited on, and she wasn’t. Clementine and Luke gave Jane her space and left her to her own devices. Luke, in his time with Rebecca, knew better than to tell a pregnant woman what to do. For Clementine, she didn’t want a repeat of the past.</p><p>Clementine had depended on Christa while the woman was pregnant, she didn’t want to feel so useless <em>ever</em> again. In the back of her mind, she had always believed that her weakness caused Christa’s baby to die and for Christa to hate her. She wouldn’t have that happen again. Clementine had grown up a lot since they first met her, she was braver and smarter, and thought of things that hadn’t even occurred to Luke and Jane before. It was Clementine who suggested they go on the run, she had saved their skins many times with thinking things through, and it was Clementine that taught them to loot anything they could to trade it later. Maybe it was growing up in this world that made her think differently.</p><p>In any case, Jane felt pride in seeing Clementine adapt so well to her circumstances. It gave her some hope that her own kid could survive in this world.</p><p> It also gave Jane pride to watch AJ grow up as a healthy baby should. Jane was taking care of him at the campsite while Luke taught Clementine to fish. It was a quaint little sight, they had claimed it about two weeks ago and still hadn’t left. There was still fish to eat, even if they were tired of it. The truck had been parked and the bed was left open with their fishing supplies and kerosene stove to be easily accessed, the tent had been pitched just across from the fire and blankets they had placed out. It felt, in the crudest possible sense, cozy?</p><p>Jane was sitting with AJ by the extinguished fire, playing peekaboo or something or other. In any case, the boy wasn’t interested. Jane didn’t feel <em>natural</em> playing with him as Clementine or Luke did…</p><p>It felt rather out of place when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, Jane groaned and clutched her side. <em>Shit, what the hell was that?</em> Jane thought to herself, but the pain subsided and AJ’s fussy expression came to the front of her thoughts.</p><p>“Shh, shhh, it’s okay?” Jane put on a fake smile to trick the boy, and just as soon as she calmed the boy down the pain came back and even fiercer. It felt like a piercing, ripping pain, something sharp felt dug somewhere deep inside her. Before she even saw the blood and felt the fluid drain down her legs, she gutturally knew what was about to happen.</p><p>And she was alone, as she always feared and known she would be.</p><p>The pain was unimaginable, both searing and tearing and deeply stabbing along the whole of her body. Utter agony unlike anything she had experienced. Jane’s head was flooded with panicked thoughts. What was she supposed to do? What if she couldn’t do this by herself? What if she didn’t make it? What if she turned before they got back? What would happen to AJ?</p><p>And, holy shit, could he <em>please stop screaming?!</em></p><p>Damningly, she knew they wouldn't make it out of this alive. But her mind still drove herself to absolute determination to see this through. It would not accept that reality.</p><p>In her racked state, she picked up AJ and shut him into the truck. The baby boy screamed and screamed, terrified and so alone. So did Jane. She walked away from the truck with his muffled wails adding to her anguish.</p><p>Not knowing what to do, Jane did whatever came to her mind first. She grabbed the blankets from the back of the truck, and she shut herself in the tent for some sense of security. Next she resolved herself, as she knew she must.</p>
<hr/><p>Jane didn’t know how long it had taken. Her body and mind so contorted in pain, time felt immeasurable anymore, it felt endless. All she knew is that the light coming in through the fabric of the tent had dimmed when she had noticed it again.</p><p>Blood had soaked everything under her, the blankets she brought would have been better suited as towels. She used a hand to check between her legs, and bit down on her belt instead of screaming. The last thing she could need was a walker to follow her screams.</p><p>Jane was still alone in her tent, until soon she wasn't anymore. With cringing agony, she pushed until the baby came out of her onto the bloodied cloth below. The cord still attached, she quickly scooped it up into her shaking arms. </p><p>"Hi...hi…" Jane said, her voice a choked sob. <em>Please be okay, oh God be okay…</em></p><p>With one hand, she pulled out the knife from her discarded pants, and she cut the fleshy umbilical cord between them. Her first act as a mother was to sever them.</p><p>The baby felt warm against her chest, but it didn't make a sound. It didn't scream, it didn't cry. The child didn't open its eyes, it's tiny chest didn't raise with a single breath. But in her arms, she felt it move. It jerked, its limbs moved in an uncoordinated, almost animalistic way. It grew cold. And Jane knew.</p><p>Tears slid down her already soaked face, and she pulled the knife up again. Her last act as a mother would be to drive the blade through the soft, unformed skull of her stillborn.</p>
<hr/><p>Clementine and Luke walked up to the campsite with their arms full of supplies and fish for dinner. The air felt eerie and still, but it wasn't quickly taken in.</p><p>"Where's AJ?" Clementine asked, her head already looking around the fire pit and trees nearby. </p><p>"Not sure." Luke shrugged, he came towards the truck bed and placed the cooler on the lip. When the weight rocked the truck, AJ woke up. He began screaming again.</p><p>"Oh my God, AJ?!" Clementine dropped the nets and ran over to the car door. The baby boy was snot faced and inconsolable when she scooped him up in her arms. "Why are you in here?"</p><p>Luke rushed over to the car as well to check on AJ. He pet his fuzzy head to assure AJ he was safe, then his eyes turned wildly around the campsite. "Where's Jane?!"</p><p>"She left him in here?" Clementine was still alarmed, the baby still cried in her arms, both starving and afraid. </p><p>"Jane!" Luke pulled out of the truck and began to look around, he was quick on his feet, and crossed the tent first. </p><p>That’s when he heard the heavy breathing, and weak "In here."</p><p>It was a sight from a nightmare. Blood was soaked and smeared on every surface, Jane had never looked so pale. And in a lump on the floor was something wrapped up in a drenched blanket.</p><p>"Just get it out of here." Jane spit, she turned her face away from the door and crossed her arms. Her hostility seemed more like hurt.</p><p>"Oh Jesus Christ…" Luke couldn't process what he was seeing, he felt his heart pound through his whole body.</p><p>"Luke? Is she there?" Clementine asked, voice raised over AJ's wailing.</p><p>"Don't get any closer!" Luke whipped his head back and put a hand up, he didn't want her to see this. "Just-just take care of AJ!" </p><p>"What?" Clementine was alarmed, she craned her neck to see over his shoulder, but once she got only a glimpse, a faint color of blood, she knew. "Oh no…oh <em>no."</em> She backed away with AJ in her arms, turned away. Her face flushed and familiar, hot tears announced themselves. She held on tightly to the boy, now more than ever afraid to let go.</p>
<hr/><p>Jane didn't come to the burial. She was still bleeding, but not as much. They cleaned her up. She would pull through, she would be okay. They assumed. They hoped.</p><p>Luke and Clementine found a spot. It was out of sight of the campground, but not far. A place more peaceful, a spot under a tree with a nice view of the lake. They had dug a hole, which didn't take long. Who they needed to bury wasn't big…</p><p>It was dead quiet when Luke carried over the baby. It seemed even the songbirds in the trees were paying their respects. He held the swaddle like it was made of glass, it rested in his arms like it was made of piping-hot coals. Afraid to hold it, more afraid to let go. He didn't look at the face, his heart pounded too full of <em>sorrow</em> for what he would see.</p><p>Gently, he placed the swaddle into the shallow grave. His only act as a father was to lay his child to rest. The enormity of was lost did not fall onto his shoulders immediately, instead it pressed onto him, every second pushing him deeper into the earth.</p><p>Clementine understood instantly. She had lived through this before. Every day she lived in fear it would happen again to AJ. Instead, it happened to Jane and Luke. A child lost before it was even <em>had.</em></p><p>There wasn't much they could say at this miniscule gravesite. There were no stories to share, no words to comfort and remind of their presence on this Earth. Not even a name to utter as a goodbye. This baby never even got a hello.</p><p>Without a word, Luke knelt down at the site. With his hands, he began to carefully place each handful of dirt on top, he pressed them in with tenderness and tears. Clementine joined him, knelt beside him, burying his baby with as much care as he put in. </p><p>Soon the grave was filled, and a cross of stones was set atop. And beside there sat Luke with his face in his hands, and Clementine with arms around him and her face pressed into his back. Light streamed across the lake, the warmth and orange glow of the sunset embraced them; was it a goodbye, or an apology?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so...yeah. sorry about that. if you think i depicted this in an insensitive or incorrect way, please let me know so i can fix this.</p><p>the campground i was describing is supposed to be north bend park and campground, my family camped there earlier this summer. it's a cool place. part of the reason i love twdg so much is bc it depicts the scenery that exists around me that i grew up around :)</p><p>this chapter took me a whole to write due to the content, and school is going to start for me tomorrow so updates might be slower. sorry :( <br/> <br/>please leave a comment! they really do make my fucking week <del>and given my first week of school it would mean a lot.</del>. i love every single one and love to chat and get story ideas from y'all</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Tainted Blood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jane woke up with the sticky feeling of sweat on her eyebrow and the stagnant air of the tent getting too hot for her to breathe. These August mornings could get sweltering, and the group had to keep the tent zipped up to keep the mosquitoes out. They were somewhere further down in North Carolina, and Jane assumed somewhere closer to the shore. The soil felt grittier under her boots. She woke up and felt Luke’s arm around her torso, he was asleep. Good. That should make this all easier…</p><p>Jane made her decision, as she always felt she did. She was going to leave. She refused to be hurt by things out of her control again, and now she would regain it before it all went to shit again. She felt the chaos coming on, it prickled her skin and held a firm knot under her lungs from anticipation. She knew once the breeze came back and the leaves turned brown, the world would get to be a much darker place, as it had every time the winter rolled around. And she didn’t want to be here to see it all go to shit. For her to see people she cared about to die once again.</p><p>Jane carefully unzipped the tent, careful not to wake Luke. She took a good look at his face, and felt her own falter. Since it happened...since they lost their kid, it had been difficult. But it had been difficult since they met, their entire relationship was built on the precarious foundation of loss, commitment, and shared pain.</p><p>He used to look at her, and she knew he was looking back at her asking for her face to replace the memory of someone else. For her face to make him forget why he had his broken heart. </p><p>That, she could stomach. That, she could take. In some way, she was asking for the same thing from him. Just to forget things for a while, for the touch of another person to remind her she was still there.</p><p>Now, he would look at her, and she would know it was pity. He knew the tears she had wept. He knew their half-formed child lost it’s warmth in her arms. In his eyes, what was reflected back were her own vulnerabilities. Now this, she couldn’t suffer. </p><p>Jane closed the tent.</p><p>Clementine was sitting with AJ by the fire, her eyes held the weariness of someone halfway through their shift on morning watch. She was stirring oatmeal for breakfast, a find from last week’s scavenging. Their finds were becoming sparser and sparser, even as they travelled out farther in any which direction… All the more reason to leave. Jane shouldn’t be another mouth to feed.</p><p>“Morning, Clem.” Jane spoke quietly, her voice was tired and scratchy and just the tiniest bit painful. She sat down on the other side of the fire, and felt that anxious knot in her throat build again.</p><p>“Morning, Jane.” Clementine yawned, her yawn not exaggerated. </p><p>AJ grumbled on the blanket next to Clementine and reached for her attention. It was easy to tell he was hungry. All the more reason to leave, Jane had nothing to offer him anymore. After she lost the baby, she dried up. It felt hard to hold him anymore, knowing that she would never hold her own. That her own felt impossibly light in her arms, because it was. She looked down at her hands and picked at her nails. </p><p>Jane used to think she could replace what she lost.</p><p>She loved AJ, he had grown up before her own eyes and in her arms. But he wasn’t her child, she wasn’t his mother. She failed once as a mother and she didn’t want a second chance to fuck it up again.</p><p>She loved Clementine. The young girl had grown to become her closest companion, the person she trusted the most since she lost Jaime. Clementine was a sister to Jane...but she wasn’t <em>her</em> sister. She wasn’t Jaime, and Jane didn’t want to see if Clementine would die and leave her alone again. Jane didn’t want to see history repeat itself once again. Jane couldn’t take losing her...but could she take letting her go?</p><p>And Luke...well...she couldn’t stand a relationship where each was just a reminder of the other’s pain.</p><p>“Clem-” Jane said, her voice nearly cracked, and she went quiet again to resettle it.</p><p>“Yeah?” Clementine looked at Jane. Her hazel eyes opened a little more, her brows drifted apart in concern. She had too much already on her small shoulders…</p><p>“It’s nothing...” Jane looked away, but caught herself in a lie. She went quiet, then looked at her to speak again. ”...You know I love you...right?”</p><p>“Jane…?” Clementine’s shoulders dropped. “What are you talking-”</p><p>“I just need you to know that, Clementine.” Jane said, she pulled on the brown hair just long enough to grasp by the side of her head, holding it felt like she was holding herself together. “Please tell me you know that.”</p><p>Clementine opened her mouth, it nearly trembled in shock, it held still looking for the right words to say as her eyes scanned Jane’s face. It seems they both would be in tears, but Clem’s fists were also tightened in anger. Jane was leaving her again, and this time it felt for no reason. “Jane, you can’t leave again. You can’t do that.” Clementine’s voice cracked, the tears felt hot.</p><p>“Clem...” Jane sighed, guilt pooled in her. How was she supposed to tell Clementine she had to. “Clementine, please. I need you to know that.”</p><p>Silence tried to grip onto the air, but the tension was too humid. “I-I love you too.” Clementine responded; she knew no matter what she said she couldn’t change Jane’s mind. And Clementine wouldn’t let her go without knowing she loved her.</p><p>Jane nodded, her brown eyes were cast back down to her lap and she gulped roughly to hold it back.</p><p>Until Clementine came over and hugged Jane tightly though her jacket. What Jane said felt familiar...it felt like another goodbye. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”</p><p>Jane let out a shuttered sigh. “You know me so well, don’t you?”</p><p>“Please don’t go.” Clementine said. “What are we gonna do without you?”</p><p>“You’ll be okay,” Jane let out, she held tightly and rubbed circles onto the stained, worn fabric of that old puffer jacket. “You are strong, Clementine. Stronger than me. AJ will be well taken care of in your hands...you’ll have each other’s backs...” Jane looked off at the tent, then at the baby boy, before shutting her eyes.</p><p>AJ crawled over between them, and Clementine parted from Jane to pick him up. The girl wiped her eyes, and the woman got to him first.</p><p>“Hey, kid.” Jane let out one chuckle for him as she raised his body up. “You got so big...” Jane held him close, she held him soundly, and she held him for the last time.</p><p>Later, Clementine would watch tearfully as Jane walked away down that road, nothing but the clothes on her back and one day’s worth of food. She couldn’t take any more from them.</p><p>Later, AJ would cry asking for her, with only Clementine to comfort him instead.</p><p>Later, Luke would wake up and ask for her. He would yell for her, and he would cry for her as well. He would steep in the pain of never getting to say goodbye, of being abandoned again. Like they all would.</p><p>But, for now, Jane was making her peace, her goodbyes with the baby she raised, and the girl she got to see raise herself. For now, the blood of hardship was flowing through her thicker than the salt in tears.</p><p>For now, Clementine held inside the pain of watching another person leave her forever. And this time, by choice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[insert jennifer coolidge saying "hi"]</p><p>school is kicking my ass and it's only the third week, chapters from now on are likely to come out slower but i will <em>try</em> to finish this fic before the end of the year.</p><p>this chapter is quite short, sorry, but it was meant to be. it ends phase 2 of this story, and leads into the transition to ANF. (next chapter is some filler, right after that starts the ANF storyline). god i got to read up on s3's plot again. let me know if you have new plot ideas in the storyline.</p><p>i need a beta reader BTW especially for the ANF storyline. i think i want to change it bc the original season three was ASS. let me know in the comments if interested. <del>please leave a comment they literally mean so much to me, also give me ideas for funny interactions turns out all i know is hurt/no comfort.</del></p><p>by the way, i’ve been listening to “a pearl” by mitski a lot lately, and that kind of inspired jane’s inner monologue for this. yeah.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Keen & Bright</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i really gotta stop procrastinating smh. i put of writing for weeks then crack out a new chapter in a couple hours. it ain’t healthy.</p><p>anyway i lied. THIS is as close as i get to fluff. enjoy, the pain will come soon! &gt;:)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Luke, over there!” Clementine pointed from the passenger’s seat to a backroad opening off of the highway. “There could be gas out there.”</p><p>Luke checked the gauge, the needle was still hovered over empty, stopping anywhere out of view from the highway would be good, safer. “Sure thing.” He turned the truck down the driveway, another overgrown backroad like the hundred they’ve been down before.</p><p>Their truck drove down the road, and before them opened up fields of buttercups and waist-high weeds fenced off and adjacent to a farmhouse. This out of the way, it was a better bet for some food and supplies than the last couple months of scavenging had been.</p><p>It was springtime once again. The cold of the winter had snapped, their desperation not as urgent as each day rolled around with the sun getting just a bit brighter and just a bit warmer. Nights spent freezing and silent in the car were getting more bearable, and foraging yielded more results. AJ was one now, Clementine twelve. While Luke saw AJ become a child, he saw how Clementine became less of one by the day.</p><p>“C’mon, <em>c’mon....”</em> Luke urged the engine as it sputtered out just at the halfway point of the driveway. “Shit.”</p><p>Clementine groaned, but before complaining she had popped open her door and headed to the back of the truck. “Let’s get this over with.” She braced her hands on the bumper and grounded herself, Luke joined her soon after and they rolled the truck together until they came to the front of the house.</p><p>Luke felt conflicted that it was true, but ever since <em>she</em> left, he had come to rely on Clementine even more. Hell, as an equal. Clementine was young, but more adapted to this world than anyone Luke had ever seen. She saved his hide more times than he could count, and vise versa. They depended on each other, AJ depended on them both. Luke felt he should be more responsible for her, but there was no time to worry about giving her a childhood when their lives were at risk of ending near everyday. In some ways, he still couldn’t accept that her childhood ended long ago...</p><p>“Clem, go put the brakes on.” Luke braced his hands on the car and dug his heels into the gravel driveway to keep the truck from rolling downhill. </p><p>Clementine nodded, and quickly left for the gearshift. She returned with AJ on her hip.</p><p>“Hey, lil’ man,” Luke wiped his brow of sweat and placed a hand on top of AJ’s head. The one year old smiled and tucked himself more into Clementine’s shoulder. Luke smiled.</p><p>Clementine began to look at their surroundings. No cars around, and the vines and weeds creeping up the house and driveway told her that no one had been here a long time. There was a broken window, wait, make that two, but they didn’t look recently smashed. And over by a tree near the front there was-</p><p>“Oh Jesus.” Luke spotted it too.</p><p>There was a walker strung up on a tree. It was old, Luke reached to fish his gun out of his pocket before Clementine spoke up. “It’s not moving, Luke.” She was right. The flesh off it’s bones was withered away, barely enough holding joints together. There were no rattling groans, no identifying features. It wasn’t a walker anymore. It was a skeleton.</p><p>“Huh.” Luke pulled his hand back empty. “How long do you reckon that’s been there?”</p><p>“Maybe near the beginning.” Clementine shrugged. She started making her way up to the door. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a long time, we might find some good stuff.”</p><p>Luke couldn’t tell if she was excited, hopeful, or relieved. She just seemed so blunt.</p><p>“Let’s get a good look then.”</p>
<hr/><p>“Holy shit.”</p><p>The two were stood in front of the dining room table. Atop of it was their finds from a quick pass over of the house.</p><p>Clementine went first to the pantry, not expecting to find anything, and instead being met with fully stocked shelves. Luke went first to the garage, where he found ammunition and guns in an unlocked safe. They next rooted around the bathrooms together, scraping up over-the-counter medicine and bandages left behind.</p><p>“Yeah. Holy shit.” Luke agreed with her.</p><p>Their moment of shock and disbelief had quickly turned to elation in their fortune. Both cracked huge smiles, and celebrated with a bag of seasoned salad croutons.</p><p>“These people must have evacuated when the outbreak first happened.” Clementine said, licking her fingers of crumbs.</p><p>“That seems about right,” Luke nodded, his eyes focused on AJ slobbering on a crouton. “The safe didn’t have any money in it, they might’ve taken their valuables ‘n’ left in a hurry.”</p><p>“All the better for us then. This place must be full of stuff!” Clementine smiled, and she smiled in a way Luke had never seen her do before. She just looked so...happy. Truly joyous and excited. It would make his heart melt, if the reason wasn’t so sad.</p><p>“Yeah,” Luke nodded, his eyebrows just faintly pressed together. “We oughta get to cleanin’ it out.”</p>
<hr/><p>Over the next several hours, Luke and Clementine went room by room, cleaning out anything of value and hoarding it in the dining room. As they scavenged, Luke began feeling something stew within him. As they kicked up dust and distrubed long-forgotten cobwebs and mice nests, he felt a pain of familiarity, almost a sense of homesickness.</p><p>This place was so much like home. He grew up on a farm, he grew up in a house like this. His family’s pictures hung on the wall the same way, he and his sisters had a height chart in the kitchen doorway as well. Pen marks held so many memories. Did this family have memories like his? Did they love each other just the same? Out of respect, he wiped the dust off the portraits, and turned the frames down before they scavenged.</p><p>By the end of it they had plenty of food, medicine, ammunition, even smaller creature comforts. Books, CDs, and markers could fill in long gaps on the road when neither wanted to speak. There were many times when they didn’t. Especially after…</p><p>Luke didn’t like to talk about it. Neither did Clementine. Both felt so hurt and betrayed by Jane, her absence left what felt like a hole; an unfilled seat. There were many days when Luke would be driving and look to his right expecting her to be there. But she wasn’t.</p><p>On nights around the campfire, when Clementine was either asleep or pretending to be, Luke would think about what he could have said to her, if he was allowed a goodbye. He would rehearse in his head what to say to her, make it something to make her stay. But Jane was gone, their tears were shed, and even AJ stopped asking for her anymore. Stopped waking up crying for “Jay-neh.”</p><p>He knew she wasn’t doing well after the miscarriage. Physically, she bled for weeks. All held their breaths in anticipation for her death, but Jane was one stubborn woman who refused to die. Emotionally, well… Jane felt very far away most of the time, then she would be crying. Either refuse his comfort, or find herself inconsolable in his arms. <em>”Please don’t let Clementine know…”</em> She still wanted to be strong. And maybe...Luke thinks that’s why she left. She couldn’t be strong around them anymore.</p><p>Luke was out on the patio, walking around the outside of the house. Clementine was changing, they had found a bedroom that appeared to belong to a tweenage girl, if the decor was any indication. Luke gave her the opportunity to root around the wardrobe by herself. He, himself, took the first shirt he saw that seemed to fit and put it on. A red flannel button down. It smelled dust and, faintly, laundry detergent.</p><p>Luke sat down on a deck chair with a warm can of beer in hand, and looked out at the rolling Piedmont landscape in front of him as the sun just began to flirt with setting. They started heading north back to Virginia a while ago, the Carolinas had less to offer them than they planned on. When staring off into the distance, a flash of orange caught his eye. Before him, crouching in weeds, was a cat.</p><p>“Uh...” Luke was startled, he hadn’t seen a cat since...hell, the beginning. <em>”Pssspsspsss.”</em> Luke leaned down and held out a hand in front of it.</p><p>The tabby stared at him, a muted yowl drummed up in its throat. Luke pulled his hand back. “Shoot...you probably ain’t seen a person in as long as I ain’t seen a cat.” Luke shrugged. He leaned back into the chair, simply to watch the tabby as it watched him.</p><p>Slowly, over a couple minutes, the animal came forward. It nudged Luke’s legs, and preened against him. It was a fat little fellow, the apocalypse must have only had positive effects on field mice populations.</p><p>Luke liked cats, he grew up playing with the family barn cat and her yearly litters. Maybe that’s why he felt bold enough to reach down and pet it.</p><p>“Gah!” The second Luke touched its scruff, the cat hissed and bit him hard enough to draw blood. The cat swiped at his hand for good measure, then bolted off into the weeds, not to be seen again. “Motherfucker...” Luke watched the tabby run off into the fields as he rubbed his hand. It was a few minutes later when he would laugh to himself at the whole thing.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” Clementine stepped out onto the patio with AJ on her hip.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Luke turned around to get a look at her.</p><p>Clementine was wearing new clothes. A white shirt with buttons on the chest, new jeans, boots, and Luke could see the straps of a sports bra at the tops of her shoulders, but he wouldn’t comment on it.</p><p>“Weirdo,” Clementine let out an amused huff. She set down AJ onto the concrete, and then pulled a pair of scissors out of her back pocket. “Hey, can you cut my hair?” She held the instrument with both hands, and looked down at it intently. “I try to keep it short...haven’t found scissors in a while.”</p><p>“Uh, sure.” Luke stood up out of his chair, and took the last sip of his beer before throwing the can into a broken window. He got a scolding look from Clementine before she sat down in his place.</p><p>Clementine took off her hat and placed it in her lap, then took out her hair ties and slipped them around her wrist. It was then she realized Luke was looking at her with a interested and almost puzzled expression. “What?” She asked defensively.</p><p>“Nothing.” Luke shook his head. “It’s just that I’ve known you for over a year now, and this is the first time I’ve <em>ever</em> seen you without that damn hat on.”</p><p>Clementine blushed, but tried to hide it by furrowing her brows and pursing her lips. “Shut <em>up.”</em> She held the scissors out for him.</p><p>“Yes ma’am.” Luke laughed and took them from her hand. He stood behind her and combed through her hair with his fingers a bit. He never noticed how curly it was before. Guess he should have expected that, since Clementine was black. He thought she was, at least. Okay, he was about seventy percent sure she was black but it’s not like he was going to ask her. He just started cutting. “Why do you keep it short?” Luke asked as little chunks of black hair fell down her shoulders.</p><p>“A friend told me too...Lee.” Clementine said, a far-off sadness came to her eyes, but Luke could only hear it in her voice.</p><p>“Right,” Luke nodded. They didn’t talk about Lee much, but Luke could tell he meant a lot to her. From the little information he gathered, the man was there for her when this all started and took care of her for a long time. When talking about formative apocalypse experiences, he was often mentioned.</p><p>“Well,” Luke spoke again after a couple minutes. “Did I do a good enough job?”</p><p>Clementine’s hands went to the ends of her hair, now a few inches shorter. She brushed the hair off of her and went to get a look in a window. “Mmmm...yeah. Good enough.” She tied her hair ends back into low pigtails and pulled her baseball cap back on. She turned back around and saw Luke, “Do you want a haircut too? Your’s is getting pretty long.”</p><p>“Oh, uh...” Luke felt the ends of his hair, which was now reached just a bit past the tops of his shoulders. It had been at least a year from his last haircut, probably closer to a year and a half. Sylvia was the last person to cut his hair, he remembered. She took Nick and Luke and gave them a haircut just a couple weeks before she… “Nah, I’m good.” Luke ran a hand through it. It felt like a memory he didn’t want to lose yet, he felt his hair kept track of all the things he had been through since then.</p><p>“Alright. You should probably tie it up then.” Clementine pulled another elastic hair tie off of her wrist. “A walker pulling you by the hair is <em>not</em> fun, trust me.”</p><p>“Damn. I will, then.” Luke took the tie from her and gathered up the hair from the back of his head. It took a minute to figure out, but he pulled it through into a loose bun.</p><p>“Clem!” AJ reached up to Clementine, asking for her attention again.</p><p>“Goofball!” Clementine smiled, she picked the boy up and held him close. The sunset began to streak in colors of pink and orange, and soon all three were looking out at it.</p><p>“We should get started on dinner.” Clementine said, just the word made her mouth water.</p><p>“Dinner? Tonight we’re having a feast.” Luke smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“A feast of croutons and green beans.” Clementine nodded, a cheeky grin came to her face.</p><p>“Oh, Clementine, don’t excite my weak heart.” Luke put a hand over his chest in a mocking manner, and Clementine elbowed him in response.</p><p>“Come on.” She rolled her eyes and turned towards the door.</p>
<hr/><p>Dinner was served and consumed, the sunset came and went, and the group sat on the couch in front of the fireplace inside the house, enjoying the warmth and light of the fire without fear of rain or wind blowing it out. AJ was nodding off to sleep in Clementine’s lap, his eyes watching the dancing flames, and Luke was tuning the strings to a guitar they had found in a bedroom earlier that day.</p><p>“Is it done yet?” Clementine asked again, she had been waiting for Luke to finish tuning for a while now. He said he used to play guitar, and she wanted to hear.</p><p>“I think so...wish we found an electric tuner but this sounds close enough.” Luke said, he strummed one last time to see if it was right. “So, what song do you wanna hear?”</p><p>“Uh...I don’t know.” Clementine said. She gently squeezed AJ’s hands inside her own.</p><p>“You don’t know?” Luke asked. “Well. How ‘bout this one?” He began to play the intro rhythm to <span class="u"><em>Jolene.</em></span> “This one is a classic, my mom loved it.” </p><p>“I remember this!” Clementine smiled, she leaned back into the armrest of the couch to be facing him. “It’s Dana...Donna-”</p><p><em>“Dolly.”</em> Luke shook his head. <em>“Dolly Parton,</em> the Queen of Country. Are you really from Georgia, Clementine?”</p><p>“Ugh, shut up.” Clementine rolled her eyes. She nestled more into the couch and propped her feet up. “Just play the song.”</p><p>“Alright...” Luke went on to play Jolene, stopping a couple times to fix his fingering and pick up on the melody, but <em>never</em> because he forgot a lyric. Soon the song ended and Clementine gave him a brief applause. “Thank you, thank you,” he mimicked a half-assed bow before setting down the guitar and getting more comfortable on the couch himself. It’s been a long ass time since he had the chance to sink into something comfortable.</p><p>“Hey, Luke?” Clementine spoke up after a while. “Do you think we can stay here a couple days?”</p><p>Luke looked over at the girl. “Huh?”</p><p>“It’s just. We have enough food to last a while and it’d be nice to be off the road for a bit. We can sleep in real beds here, and AJ has a chance to crawl around, you know?”</p><p>“That sounds nice, Clem. I don’t see why not.” Honestly, if Clementine hadn’t asked then Luke would have.</p><p>“Good.” Clementine smiled, and looked back down at the sleeping toddler. </p><p>“Hey, Luke?” she spoke up again after a minute of comfortable silence.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Can you teach me how to play guitar?”</p><p>Luke smiled. “Sure.”</p>
<hr/><p>The group had been at the farmhouse for about three days. They enjoyed their time there so far, they enjoyed their full night’s rest on comfortable beds, their full stomachs, and the knowledge that they had a full tank of gas from the spare canisters Luke found in the garage. The truck was packed, they planned to leave in the morning. One couldn’t bet on finding food before their supply ran out, however big, they needed to get back on the road to scavenge soon.</p><p>Luke was sitting out with AJ on the porch with wet hair and the clean smell of soap on his skin. They had found a spigot out back that ran water for about a minute at a time, and they jumped at the chance to bathe themselves however half-assed and cold it would be. AJ went first, Luke next, and now Clementine had her privacy to try to wash off years of filth.</p><p>Luke was plucking at the strings of the guitar, trying to remember an old song he half forgot. AJ was at his feet playing with a doll. Really, he was chewing on it, but that’s fun to him.</p><p>“Yabka!” AJ smiled really wide and thrust the doll out in front of him.</p><p>“Hell yeah, lil’ man. Whatever that means.” Luke nodded in agreement.</p><p>He plucked at the strings for a little longer, and soon heard footsteps come up from behind him.</p><p>“What’s this song?” Clementine asked, she sat down on the deck chair across from him. She was back in her clothes, but the almost permanent layer of grime had been wiped off her skin.</p><p>“I’m not quite sure.” Luke shook his head. “I only half remember it, I’m tryin’ to figure it out.”</p><p>“Oh.” Clementine nodded. She looked down at AJ and smiled. “Hi Goofball! Do you like your toy?”</p><p>“Yabka!” AJ said again, giggling this time.</p><p>“Seems he learned a new word. Now we gotta figure out what the devil it means.” Luke chuckled. He stopped playing and rubbed AJ’s head.</p><p>Clementine chuckled and leaned back into her deck chair. She looked out onto the fields around them, and smiled. “It’s pretty out here.”</p><p>“Yeah, it is.” Luke nodded in agreement, he looked out with her. “I love the country. I grew up on a farm a lot like this.”</p><p>“Yeah...I think you mentioned that before.” Clementine said. “Was it fun?”</p><p>“Oh yeah, lots of fun.” Luke smiled, fond memories came to him. “I was in charge of the goats and chicken; those are some <em>rambunctious</em> animals. My sisters used to milk the cows and goats, and me and Nick used to steal the licorice balls out of the fancy horse feed as a snack when they weren’t lookin’. Even though it made us sick.” Luke laughed, Clementine joined in in a confused and amused manner.</p><p>“You what?”</p><p>“I know, it was stupid, but kids love candy, y’know?” Luke laughed, but soon the laughter became more somber and bittersweet. Old memories of youth often were.</p><p>“Hey, Clementine?” Luke looked back at Clementine, and she looked back at him.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“You’re like a little sister to me. I want you to know that.” Luke meant it, of course he did. </p><p>Clementine looked at him with an earnest, almost sad expression that made him doubt she knew that. Really, it was memories of the last person who thought of her as a sister that made her sad.</p><p>“And that’s funny, because I’ve only ever had <em>older</em> sisters before.” Luke let out a strained chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p>“I was an only child...I never had any siblings growing up.” Clementine said, but a small smile came to her face. “But now it feels like I have two brothers.” <em>And lost a sister…</em></p><p>Luke smiled, “I’m glad to hear that.”</p><p>And cutting short their mutually bittersweet silence, AJ shouted once again. “Yabka!”</p><p>Both Luke and Clementine laughed again, and Clem picked up the little boy. “Yabka? Yes?” She said to him.</p><p>“Hey, Clem.”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I think I remember the song.”</p>
<hr/><p>Come the light of morning, the three got in their packed car and got ready to head out on the road again. With Clementine and AJ in the passenger seat, they all rolled down the driveway. Luke took one last look out of the rearview mirror, and in his sight was the tabby. Bastard was perched up on the doorstep of the house.</p><p>“Huh. I’ll be damned.” Luke said.</p><p>“What?” Clementine asked.</p><p>“The cat came back.”</p><p>“Oh!” Clementine turned around to see it out the back window. “Should we go pet it?”</p><p>“No,” Luke shook his head. “I think it just wanted to say goodbye.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yeah so little details 1. clementine is wearing basically her s3 outfit but rn luke has the flannel 2. his hair is long like that ONE fanart by septickrab on tumblr, does anyone know what i’m talking about??? 3. the cat is based on my family’s cat hobbes :) you can tell bc he’s an orange tabby and an asshole. </p><p>guess what hobbes represents in the story lol. <del>it ain’t hard.</del></p><p>but uh yeah, next chapter starts the ANF arc. hope y’all are prepared, bc i’m not. i’ve gotta replay the game and study the storyline to rewrite it, next chapter will probably be in a while lads, sorry.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Flashing With Silver</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>the start of the ANF arch lets goooooooo</p><p>warning for canon-typical violence and rape mention.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>There was a chill, a snap, and then heaving. His chest spasmed, his mouth opened to see air bubbles escape. His eyes followed them upward, above him was shattered ice. He was drowning. Fuck, he was drowning again.</em>
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  <em>Hands. Luke felt so many hands across his body. They scratched at his chest and pulled down on his clothes. They tugged his legs down, held his arms back, and inched closer and closer to his neck as he fell further and further into the abyss.</em>
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  <em>Above the ice he saw faces. They were rippled and distorted, frozen in place. Like the memories long since past. Like the people long since past.</em>
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  <em>His Mother. His Father. Rachel, Hannah. Sylvia, Pete, Rebecca, Alvin, Sarah, Carlos. All were watching him sink down.</em>
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  <em>There was Jane. There was Nick. But there was no Clementine.</em>
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  <em>He fought the dead, withered hands that clawed at his body. Like a hydra, pulling one off brought more. As many squeezed around his neck and his lungs screamed for air, a wild, frantic question came to him; what was going to kill him first?</em>
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<hr/><p>Luke woke up gasping and sweaty. Hands instinctively went to his chest and his face, and he felt the raindrops from the open window on his cheek. He took several deep breaths, and quietly spoke to himself. “It’s just a dream...just a dream.”</p><p>From the backseat, he heard a tired groan. “Luke?” Clementine said, she rubbed one of her eyes and sat up to look at him.</p><p>“Oh, Clem.” Luke turned to see her awake. “Sorry for waking you, go back to sleep.”</p><p>“Mmm...okay.” The girl yawned and shut her eyes. Within seconds she was back to sleep, AJ in her arms.</p><p><em>Shit,</em> Luke thought to himself. He would have tried to go back to sleep, but his heart was racing too hard and his dream weighed too heavy in his mind. Instead, he rolled up the window and lay back down in his reclined driver’s seat, and listened to the sound of the rain pattering in the forest backroad outside.</p><p>It’s autumn now, oh how the years rolled around again. How long had it been now? Over five years since this all started? Two since he met Clementine. She’d grown so much since he and Pete found her in those woods, even if she ain’t much taller.</p><p>Summer had passed, and as the air grew colder and the days shorter, their lives had become harder again. Every year seemed to get worse, and there was less and less to find left behind. Lately, splitting up had been the only option in order to scrape enough for dinner. Even then, some nights they had to pick who ate. Luke took the short end more often than not, but Clementine took it more than she should. She’s a growing kid, and she’s the one carrying AJ around most of the time. And, oh god, with what happened last week…</p><p>Clementine lost a finger. A fucking <em>finger.</em></p><p>She and Luke split up to go hunting, and when she came back the ring finger on her left hand was chopped in half. She said she slammed it in a car door protecting AJ, and cut it off herself when the pain from her pulverized bones was too much. Luke freaked out, of course he did, and even now he was unnerved and distressed from the whole thing. But Clementine was calm, she was stoic as she always was.</p><p>She was only twelve, almost thirteen, but self-amputation was something that Clementine had already come to accept as part of her survival. No kid should have to go through this. Luke wanted a better life for her and AJ, hell even himself too. What they were doing was not sustainable, they wouldn’t survive like this much longer. Luke knew that, and so did Clementine.</p><p>Sometimes his mind drifted back to that farmhouse they saw early that spring. It had no supplies left, yes, but he had a vision sometimes of turning that place into a farm again. Clementine and AJ would grow up safe, surrounded by fences and food, and Luke would make his daddy proud by putting that minor in agriculture to use and carrying on the family legacy. And he could teach Clementine and AJ to provide for themselves, instead of taking whatever they could eek out of a world no longer there. But it was just a dream. A vision of his that felt too far away, too unattainable to create by himself…</p><p><em>”What was that?”</em> Luke heard something outside, but it was hard to tell. The rain was still pattering down, but he swore he heard something shift on the wet leaves outside. He decided to take a look, perhaps it was an animal they could eat for breakfast. Quietly, he opened the creaky driver’s side door and stepped out onto the ground.</p><p>They were somewhere in the south of Louisa County, Virginia. They tried to pass through Charlottesville, but all roads leading there were blocked off. They were afraid of who could be there protecting what was inside. They parked somewhere off of a wooded backroad, and decided to stay there a couple days. Gas was getting harder and harder to find, they tried not to drive aimlessly anymore, only leaving somewhere when they felt they had nothing else to gain. They stopped here about two weeks ago, and hadn’t had much trouble.</p><p>Except Clementine losing a finger, of course.</p><p>Luke walked around quietly in the dark. Rain splattered down on his shoulders, and he didn’t see much out there. He was about ten yards from the truck when he decided to turn back, but as he did he felt something hard press into the small of his back and the sound of breathing behind his ear. </p><p>“Put your hands up and don’t fucking move.”</p><p>A wave of fear washed over Luke, and he raised his hands slowly and kept his eyes straight forward. <em>Shit, shit shit shit...the kids!</em> “Hey, hey...I ain’t lookin’ for trouble, man.” Luke spoke with an even, yet hesitant tone.</p><p>“Shut up.” A second man emerged from behind him and came to the front, he was holding a metal bat menacingly in both hands. This man had a bandana tied around the bottom half of his face, and mean blue eyes. “We’re taking your truck, and if you play <em>nicely</em> you’ll get out of this with your <em>fucking</em> skull still intact. Got it?”</p><p>Luke took a hard swallow in and nodded.</p><p>“Good.” The blue-eyed man said. He nodded to the man behind Luke, and the two pushed him forward closer to the truck.</p><p>The man behind Luke wasn’t looking at the ground. When pushing Luke forward, he tripped the both of them on a tree root. “Fuck! You think this is a game?” The second man pinned an arm behind Luke’s back, twisting it upward painfully. Luke yelped, and the man in front turned back around.</p><p>“Don’t attract any corpses, you idiot.” The blue-eyed man came to Luke and tried looking in his pockets for the keys. As he did, he didn’t notice the girl approaching.</p><p>“Don’t move. Back away from my friend. Right <em>fucking</em> now.” Clementine stood her ground with a gun pointed at the men.</p><p>Luke looked at her, and relief came to him, but only for a second. Then fear. Clementine was bluffing, she ran out of bullets days ago.</p><p>“Whoooa, hey.” The man with the bat dropped it on the ground and took a step back, he raised his hands up at Clementine’s intimidation.</p><p>The other man said nothing, he still held onto Luke’s arm, and his shotgun was still in his other hand.</p><p>“Back up, and let him go.” Clementine commanded, her brows set down in anger as she spoke with authority.</p><p>“Little lady, we don’t want to hurt y’all.” The man behind Luke spoke. “We’re just scavengers, same as you folks.”</p><p>“No, you’re fucking thieves.” Clementine snapped. She held her gun up more.</p><p>“Clem, don’t.” Luke croaked, his voice pained from his twisted arm.</p><p>“But hell...we don’t have to take anything.” The man looked at Clementine up and down, and then to Luke. “Fifteen minutes with the girl and we’ll leave you folks alone.”</p><p>Luke nearly felt his heart stop. No. <em>Fuck</em> no. He couldn’t let that happen. He <em>wouldn’t</em> let that happen. Not for as long as he was still breathing.</p><p>Clementine squinted her eyes, she wasn’t quite sure what the men were saying, but it didn’t sound good. She raised her gun up more. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”</p><p>The man behind Luke raised his shotgun to Clementine. He took a step closer towards her and loosened his grip. “Put your gun down and find out.”</p><p>“Clementine,” Luke looked up to her, and she could see fear in his eyes she had once seen before. Back then, under the ice, it was the same terrified look in his eye. It was the kind of fear he reserved for her alone. <em>“Run.”</em></p><p>Luke then jumped up out of the man’s loose grip, he lunged his body into the side of him and grabbed onto the shaft of the gun as the man stumbled.</p><p>“Shit!” The man yelled, in his surprise he shot off the gun. It fired up into the canopy for walkers miles around to hear.</p><p>“Run!” Luke yelled after Clementine, the girl was already racing to the truck, gun still tight in her hands. “Take AJ and get the hell out of here!” Luke tried to wrestle the shotgun away from the man, but he was hit from the side with the other man’s bat to the ground. Luke gasped for the air knocked out of him.</p><p>“Luke!” Clementine yelled back, she stood there nervously with a crying AJ in her arms.</p><p>“Just go!” A yell tore through his throat. “I’ll be fine! We’ll- <em>ugh!”</em> He was hit again with the bat on the ground, and felt the familiar <em>crack</em> of his ribs. A violent coughing fit escaped him as he scrambled up from the ground.</p><p>In his unclear vision from the rain, darkness, and fear coursing through him, he saw Clementine running off. He almost felt relief, before he saw the walkers weaving out of the trees to follow her, and before he was pistol-whipped in the back of the head.</p>
<hr/><p>Clementine ran. She ran even when her lungs screamed for air and her legs felt like lead. When her shoes were filled with mud and AJ cried and cried in her tired arms. </p><p>It was dark, it was raining, and she could hear the walkers following with their slow footsteps behind her. Their rattling groans grew as AJ’s cries did, and she did all she could to calm him down. <em>“Shhhh, shhhh.</em> It’s okay, AJ, it’s okay.” Clementine said to him, but her own voice was shaking from panic, her own body was shaking from the cold. When talking to him didn’t work, she would hum. She tried to hold the melodies of lullabies and songs Luke was teaching her on the guitar, and over time she found that the songs calmed her shaking voice as well. </p><p>Soon AJ wasn’t crying, and less walkers came their way, and Clementine got a chance to slow down and think. </p><p>Here she was, in the woods at night with the rain pouring down and AJ in her arms. She had no bullets, no other weapons, no truck, and she couldn’t rely on Luke. She needed to find him again, but first she needed shelter. “Where can I go… <em>Think,</em> Clementine, <em>think.”</em> She spoke to herself, as she often did. A habit she picked up from Lee all those years ago.</p><p>Then it came to her.</p><p>Several days ago, she and Luke had stumbled upon an abandoned bus in the woods. It was a tour bus full of holes. It didn’t have anything in it but a cot and empty shelves, so they passed by it thinking it didn’t have any use to them. But now Clementine knew it had walls and a roof, and that was all she needed.</p><p>So she began to run again. It must have taken hours to find it, orintating herself on the backroads they had only traveled down once before. Soon, through the trees, the broken, shuttered windows came into view as shapes in the night. She quickly pulled the door open and set AJ down on the cot, before shutting the door and shaking the handle to see if it would break. The walls were flimsy, but if they kept quiet it shouldn’t be a problem.</p><p>Clementine took a deep sigh and pressed her head on the wall, but her moment of respite was interrupted by AJ whimpering on the cot.</p><p>“AJ, AJ- No, don’t cry.” Clementine knelt in front of the cot and put her hands to the sides of AJ’s face. “You need to be <em>quiet.</em> Like this,” she put a finger over both of their lips. “Please be a good boy?”</p><p>The toddler whimpered more, his lip quivered from fear and the cold. Both were soaked to the bone. </p><p>Clementine sighed again, exhaustion and worry drained her again, but she wouldn’t let it take her over. AJ needed her right now just as he always did, and she would take care of him as she always will. She picked the little boy up and held him in her arms, then lay down on the cot with her body curled around him, keeping him warm.</p><p>AJ would sniffle and whimper some more, but with Clementine humming he soon fell back asleep. Even as tired as she was, Clementine couldn’t allow herself to fall asleep. She had to keep her eye out and her ears open for any threat that came their way.</p>
<hr/><p>Clementine was in a twisted, half-asleep state she was resisting when she heard pounding on the door. In her anxiety, she first thought the noise was a walker, many walkers, clamouring to get in. She jumped up and instinctively pulled the gun out of her waistband and in front of her, before remembering she had no bullets, and before she actually looked at the “walker.”</p><p>“Luke!” She tucked the gun back into her waistband and opened the door. All this commotion caused AJ to wake up, but he didn’t cry. “Oh my god-” Clementine said when she saw the state he was in.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it- are you two okay?” Luke came in and shut the door, wincing as he did. Luke was not doing good. He was shaky and lightheaded, had a busted lip, black eye, and blood dripping from his hairline. One arm he held limply by his side, the wrist painfully fractured, and his other hand held onto his side with re-broken ribs. “You’re not hurt? Not bitten?” Luke prayed more than asked, looking Clementine and AJ up and down.</p><p>“Yes, we’re okay.” Clementine said, she held onto his shoulders and gently pushed him to the cot. </p><p>“Good,” he sighed with relief, “good.” Luke sat down, wincing as he did. He removed the hand from his side and pet AJ’s head before holding onto his wrist. <em>Ow.</em> Yup. That was definitely broken in some way.</p><p>“What happened?” Clementine asked, hazel eyes full of worry. </p><p>“I got the daylights beat outta me, that’s all.” Luke tried to let a dry chuckle out through his nose, but it just wouldn’t come, because he knew that wasn’t all. It took a moment to say, however. “...they got the truck.” Guilt pressed into him harder than it had on the way here. How did this happen, how could he let this happen?</p><p><em>“Shit...”</em> Clementine said. A hand pulled back her eyebrows and down her face, she leaned against the wall so that she could feel it support her. They had nothing now, once again, but somehow so much more to lose. Her eyes went to AJ, as did Luke’s. “...What do we do now?”</p><p>“I...” <em>I don’t know,</em> Luke thought. He couldn’t say that to her, he couldn’t say anything. They sat in grim silence with the rain pouring down, and given no answer Clementine was left to form her own.</p><p>“...We wait until morning. Then we start scavenging again.” Clementine stared out the window, even then she felt disheartened by her plan. They had nothing and they already found less than that here. Luke was in no shape to go hunting, and AJ couldn’t be left alone. Their time left on this style of living had run out long ago.</p><p>“Yeah,” Luke rasped. “We wait ‘til morning and for the rain to stop.”</p>
<hr/><p>The night had past, and the three had remained huddled together on the cot in that rickety old bus. Luke had fallen asleep early in the morning, and Clementine wanted to give him the chance to sleep. But the emptiness of her stomach wouldn’t allow breakfast to wait for him to wake up.</p><p>Clementine stood up and checked Luke’s coat pockets, he still had a hunting knife, maybe she catch something...it was a slim hope. Her rustling woke up AJ, and the baby boy made a whimpering noise. “Shh, shhh.” Clementine picked him up. “I know you’re hungry...go back to sleep, okay?” She set him back down, and exited the bus on her own.</p><p>Clementine walked through the woods on her own, she passed through the trees and remembered the path she wove on her own. The early morning sunlight showed through the patchy orange canopy and the birds chirped through the leaves. It felt peaceful, until the sounds of walkers broke through and she would have to turn to a different direction. </p><p>Clementine spent some time in the solitary company of the trees, but she saw no animals she could catch or plants she knew to be safe, so she began to walk back to the bus empty handed as always.</p><p>Moving down the path on her way back, Clementine was met with a familiar threat. Dozens of walkers clustered together. At first she tried to remain quiet and creep around, but they too quickly caught onto her scent and sent her running. <em>Fuck, fuck!</em></p><p>Clementine ran and ran, soon coming up upon the bus. Clementine rushed to the door and tried to open it, but the misshapen frame stuck. “Come on, come on-” she reeled back and kicked down the door, finding herself inside quickly.</p><p>“Clementine!” Luke shouted, confusion and relief was on his face. He set a sniffling AJ down on the cot and then caught a glimpse of the walkers outside. “Oh shit-”</p><p>“I was trying to-” Clementine looked out the boarded windows and spotted the walkers coming ever closer. “Come <em>on,”</em> Clementine said with exacerbation.</p><p>Clementine braced her hands against a shelf rack and began pushing it. Luke followed her lead and came to help, but exerting force with his broken arm caused him to wince and falter. AJ began crying again, and once the shelf barricaded the door Clementine came to comfort him.</p><p>“Shhh, AJ, it’s alright.” A walker banged on the window to object, and AJ cried louder. “I know, you’re hungry...” Clementine looked around the bus, she knew it was empty but she couldn’t help but try anything to help him.</p><p>Luke sat down on the cot next to him and stroked the toddler’s back to comfort him. Clementine began to hum to him to try to stop his whimpering, but her gaze kept looking nervously outside. The boy responded to his guardian’s soothing, his cries turned back to whimpers and he held sad little hands over his mouth. Luke hated that was a thing he had learned to do before he could speak.</p><p>“We’re gonna wait for them to go, then we’re gonna find you some food.” Clementine said to him. “Hopefully find <em>us</em> some food.”</p><p>“I hope so...” Luke sighed.</p><p>The three sat in the quiet for a moment, when outside the door of the bus came groans, thumping, and a woman’s voice. “Son of a bitch!” There called a muffled yell.</p><p>“Hey! I can hear you in there. Let me in! Please!” The voice pleaded, but it didn’t sound helpless. “Oh god...there’s so many! Please, don’t leave me out there!”</p><p>Clementine and Luke shared an unsure look, but before they could come to a decision a woman burst through another door. She turned around and held her body against the door to keep it shut in the time it took for Luke and Clementine to get a look at her. She was a black woman with a shaved head, a large scar across her scalp, wore a leather jacket, and looked tough enough to handle herself.</p><p>Just as soon as she turned her head to look at them, Clementine had already took a protective stance with her gun out. Luke had picked up a crying AJ and placed him on his hip.</p><p>“Oh shit.” The woman said. “Hey, there.” She tried to greet them.</p><p>“Hello.” Clementine said aggressively.</p><p>“Hi.” Luke looked apprehensively at the woman.</p><p>The woman looked between Clementine and her gun. “You can keep that thing pointed at me if it makes you feel better, but if you shoot <em>me,</em> you’ll have to deal with all of <em>them.”</em> The woman nodded, gesturing towards the walkers outside.</p><p>Clementine and Luke look between each other again. Luke sets the boy down on the cot as Clementine lowers her gun, but not without a warning. “Stay right where you are,” the girl said in a hushed, assertive tone. “Don’t move.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, kiddo. I’m not going anywhere.” A walker thrust itself against the door, the woman pushed herself against the door harder. “Shit!”</p><p>Ignoring AJ’s crying, Luke and Clementine rushed over to the door to help her push it back. Clementine leans against it, and Luke tries to push it back with his unhurt arm, but the exertion and stretching caused his ribs to shoot with pain. He winced and his strength faltered, causing the door to open a little wider for a moment.</p><p>“Goddamnit!” Once the door was shut back in place, the woman pulls down a large sheet of plywood over the frame, fixing it in place. The woman huffs out and leans down with her hands on her knees, taking a second to catch a breath. “Well. That could’ve been worse.” She looked at Clementine and held out her hand.</p><p>Clementine rolled her eyes and caught her composure as well. Luke did much the same, leaning against the wall opposite of the door. For the moment he would ignore the woman’s handshake offer.</p><p>The woman put her hands down onto her hips. She took her chance to look Luke up and down, her eyes concerned and scrutinizing. “You okay, man? You look like you got ran over by a bus.”</p><p>“Uh,” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “Something like that.” He nearly chuckles. He tilted his head to Clementine, questioning whether it was safe to tell this woman what happened. Well, in the end, he did. “We, uh, ran into some real bad folks last night. They took all we had.”</p><p>“Oh...that’s too bad.” The woman frowned, she looked rather sympathetic. “Lucky we ran into each other, then.”</p><p>“Is it?” Clementine retorted, she sat down at the end of the cot and took AJ into her lap to try and calm him. </p><p>“Ah.” The woman moved to sit down at the other end of the bus. “Promise, I’m not here to hurt you. Don’t know if we would have survived that scrape without each other.”</p><p>“We could have survived without you.” Clementine continued to give attitude, prompting Luke.</p><p>He looked disappointingly at her as he sat down next to her and AJ. “Clem-” </p><p>“Yeah, well, I couldn’t have survived without you. And I'm not too big to admit it.” The woman interrupted. There was a pause, until she spoke up again. “He’s a cute kid. You guys live in here?” She looked just to Clementine now. “You seem kind of young to be a mom.”</p><p>“I’m old enough.” Clementine squinted.</p><p>“His real parents are...gone. We’re all he has.” Luke said softly, petting AJ’s head.</p><p>“Then he’s cute <em>and</em> lucky. He has people looking after him,” The woman said. “Not much of that anymore.”</p><p>There is a pause, where Clementine and Luke pass a look between each other and then down to AJ. </p><p>“So...what got you caught up in that mess outside?” Luke asked.</p><p>The woman rubs her bald head, “We were out there scouting...nothing out of the ordinary and then- ...ordinary and then-  chaos in — shit, less than a minute. Those bastards are slow,” The woman gestures emphatically with her hand, “But goddammit when there’s enough of them...I got separated from the others. God.” She shook her head and looked to the floor. “I hope they made it.”</p><p>“If they died they died. We all know the risks out there.” Clementine looked off to the side. </p><p><em>“Clementine.”</em> Luke shook his head and looked at her disapprovingly. “What were you scouting for?”</p><p>“Gas, water...any supplies we could find, really. Sure as hell wasn’t worth it.” She brought herself back up from the ground. “My people are probably at the rendezvous by now. What’s left of them at least.” She shrugged and looked at the two of them. “By the way, I’m Ava. And my group,” Ava pulled up her sleeve, revealing a branded insignia. “We call ourselves The New Frontier.</p><p>Luke stared at the branded insignia, and a sick, bad feeling stirred in his stomach. But the deeper examination was interrupted by AJ once again.</p><p>Clementine picked the boy up. “He’s hungry.”</p><p>“Hey, why don’t you guys come with me. Meet my people?” Ava offered. “We have food, blankets...bottled water… And I bet we can get our doctor to take a look at you, man.” Ava puts a hand on her chest. “C’mon, dinner’s on me.”</p><p>Clementine looked to look with skeptical apprehension. Luke shared her concern, but what choice did they have? “That...that sounds good. Thank you.”</p><p>Ava smiled and put her hands back confidently on her hips. “That’s good,” she walked towards the door and pushed back the plywood. From her boot she pulled out a hunting knife and held it firmly in her grasp. “Well, you two coming?”</p><p>Clementine and Luke shared another glance, and nodded. There was nearly no choice. As they step through the threshold of the door, they knew they would be walking through to another tangled group of people, the kind that they had so long avoided. But little did they know that through that door was the beginning of their end.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and there's the start!</p><p>i was also thinking the other night about other s2 characters and how they could have been more influential in the story and carry on to s3. particularly sarah and nick. F in the chat but i'm not rewriting the fanfiction to accommodate them at this point 😭😭</p><p>please leave a comment! they all mean so much to me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Antebellum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>...heyyyyyy.</p><p>so yeah this chapter took a while to write. some bad shit happened to me in the last month that made it hard to work on this. i’m not gonna get into it, but i’d really appreciate any comments. they make my day.</p><p>to make up for my long absence, there’s over 17 pages. it’s a lot, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Luke, get your ass up. Let’s go.”</p><p><em>“Mmmm...”</em> Luke groggily opened his eyes to be met with Ava’s face at the door of his tent. He then moved his eyes over to the sleeping cot on the other side, only to see it empty. “Where’s Clem and AJ?” He asked. Luke sat up and rubbed one of his eyes.</p><p>“Out foraging with Clint. Clem took AJ with her,” Ava responded. “David’s not going to be happy if you make him wait much longer-”</p><p>“I know, I got it-” Luke sighed, pulling his boots on before leaving the tent. Ava handed him a hunting rifle as he exited. “I’m ready.”</p><p>The two soon exited the small encampment of The New Frontier. It was a small, wooded campsite surrounded by a sturdy chain-link fence somewhere outside Glenn Allen. It had been where Clem, Luke, and AJ had lived for the past three months, alongside the nearly two-dozen other people with The New Frontier. </p><p>It was thoroughly winter now, and Luke felt it on his skin as they met with David out by the gates. Residing with New Frontier meant taking a part in their chores, aiding in the collective’s survival, just the same as all groups. Today, Luke was meant to check the game traps with Ava and David, and see if they could catch any deer if that wasn’t enough.</p><p>“Took you long enough.” David stood up from his spot on a tree trunk. “We should get back before twelve hundred hours. They’re less active in the cold.” He adjusted his rifle in his hands and started walking a few paces ahead, looking back to check on the other two every few minutes as he always did. David carried himself as a leader, and to the New Frontier, he was.</p><p>The three travelled in silence for a while, Luke spent the morning soaking in the dewy, early daybreak air with his eyes set on the treeline for lurkers and his mind off of his stomach. Winter had been hard, but not as hard it would have been on the road with Clementine. Here they had a place to rest their head, and game traps to check.</p><p>“Clementine went out the other gate. She’s in the South part of the woods.” Ava broke the silence. She had seen Luke scanning the woods and thought he may be looking for her. It wasn’t often they left each other’s sides without a goodbye.</p><p>“What?” Luke turned his head and looked at the petite but study woman. “Oh- no. I was just looking out for lurkers.” He shook his head. He could trust Clementine to handle herself out here.</p><p>“Oh. My bad.” Ava shrugged, she looked out to the side to watch as well. Though, questions she had meant to ask for months now brewed in her mind, and the chance to get answers was opened up to her. “How did you two meet, by the way? I’ve been meaning to ask.” It was easy enough to be intrigued by it, three people with no relation to one another being so closely attached.</p><p>“Two years ago me and...an old friend found her in the woods. She was surrounded by lurkers, we got her out of there real quick.” Luke elected not to mention locking Clementine in a shed or the dog bite.</p><p>“Damn.” Ava nodded. “Was she still a little hardass back then?”</p><p>“Oh yeah, tough as fucking <em>nails.”</em> Luke chuckled. He remembered what it was like knowing Clementine those first few weeks. How she would upstage him and surprise him with her stunts and abilities and it would always make him impressed and taken aback. She still does that.</p><p>“Wouldn’t expect anything different.” Ava let out one dry chuckle as well. “And AJ? Where exactly did he come from?” Ava knew his parents died, but she didn’t know <em>who</em> they were. Or how Luke and Clementine ended up his caretakers.</p><p>“Um...” Luke rubbed the back of his neck, as he did when he was nervous or hesitant to speak on something. “Other friends of mine, in my old group. His parents died, and...so did everyone else. In the end all he had was me, Clem, and...” Luke waited for her name to come, but his mouth just held open in protest. He closed his mouth instead.</p><p>Ava understood. If he couldn’t say, then it was too painful to, and she wouldn’t pry. She just nodded solemnly, and scanned the horizon again for their conversation to have the chance to breathe. “You know, when I first saw you guys in that bus, I thought you were family.” </p><p>“We are.” Luke responded rather quickly. “We ain’t kin, but we’re family.” Over the last two years, there was nothing he was more sure of.</p><p>“That’s good.” Ava nodded. “It’s good you have that.” There was so much that everyone lost in this world, seeing someone gain made Ava happy. It gave her hope.</p><p>“It would be good if you two could keep it down.” David turned back to the two of them. “You’ll attract ‘lurkers’ and spook the deer.” David drew on the word Luke used for them, the enemy David didn’t name.</p><p>“Come on, David.” Ava crossed her arms, though her voice lowered. “We’re not that loud. Besides,” Ava gestured to Luke with a nod, still looking at David. “Wasn’t there something you took him out here to say?”</p><p>David very slightly narrowed his eyes and made a grumble sound from the back of his throat. “Right.” David stopped in his tracks and turned to face Luke directly. Luke would be lying if he said in that moment he didn’t feel a quick jump of nervousness from his stomach. David could be an intimidating man, and Luke didn’t want to catch his ire. “Ava, go on ahead. I need to speak to Luke.”</p><p>“Alright, Boss.” Ava shrugged, as she walked away she mouthed “good luck” with an amused grin.</p><p>It was a tense quiet moment between the two men. David held the moment in his commanding presence, Luke felt compelled to wait for him to speak first, but the silence held between them begged for release.</p><p>“So...uh...what did you want to say to me?” Luke swallowed, but he held eye contact and a solid expression.</p><p>“Luke, you and Clementine have been with us for a few months now.” David took a step to the side, he surveyed their surroundings while still keeping Luke’s gaze. “You both have proved yourself valuable members to the team. I’ve spoken with Clint, Joan, and Lingard and we’ve decided to offer you the opportunity to join The New Frontier.”</p><p>Luke felt a chill roll down his spine, and he knew it wasn’t just the breeze. “Oh.” Joining another group brought anxiety and difficulty he had spent the last two years trying to avoid. </p><p><em>”’Oh?’”</em> David raised a thick brow. “Luke, this is a good thing. There’s food and protection here for all of you, for AJ. We know we can count on you and trust you. You trust us, yes?”</p><p>Luke took a measured breath and collected himself. No, he couldn’t say he did. Groups like this had always gone bad. The structure and hierarchy breeds abuse, he’d seen too many good people suffer back at Howe’s, and New Frontier was even more zealous and pack-like. Most here were former soldiers, they were fighters. Fighters are survivors, but are they builders? “Yes. I...I can say me, Clem, and our boy wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for y’all.”</p><p>David nodded in one kurt motion, he knew that was true as well. David in the beginning had been skeptical of letting Luke and Clementine stay with them. These were outsiders, and at first seemed weak. They had a toddler, a twelve-year-old, and Luke at first was in no fighting shape. But David had a soft spot for kids… In any case, they proved themselves dependable and cooperative. David felt that despite first impressions and Clementine’s age, they would benefit the group. “Are you saying yes?” David gave a smile, it seemed almost practiced, but also the most genuine Luke had ever seen David give him.</p><p>Luke paused, his eyes skidded over the crushed brown leaves beneath their boots. Anxiety crept up his chest, but fear did as well. What would happen if Luke said no? He didn’t see David allowing them to stay, rejecting their offer only to feed from their hand. Luke felt guided, for now there was no choice. “I...I guess it is.” Luke said with damning reluctance.</p><p>David ignored the tired fear in Luke’s eyes. Instead, he clapped a hand over his shoulder. “Congratulations. A ceremony is in order then.” David turned around back on their path, following to catch up with Ava now that he got his answer.</p><p>“Ceremony?” Luke lagged behind.</p><p>“Yeah. Have to get you two decked out with this.” David pointed to the branded insignia on his neck. “It hurts like a bitch, but it builds character.”</p><p>“Wait-what?” Luke balked. “Branding? Is that really necessary?”</p><p>“It shows commitment, Luke. If you’re one of us you have to prove it.” David responded.</p><p>Luke gulped, in a way he already felt the phantom of a sting on his neck. “Y’all can’t brand Clementine, she’s just a kid-“</p><p>“No she’s not, Luke.” David stopped in his tracks once again to face Luke. “You say she’s a kid but give her the responsibility of an adult. You respect her as an equal, until it becomes inconvenient. Clementine has proved herself enough to the rest of us, and I’m damn sure she’s proved it to you.” David looked behind him. “Now let’s go. I don’t like how quiet it is.”</p><p>Luke was left for a moment standing, David’s words settling down himself like the decaying leaves under his feet. They rang true, and they hit hard. All this time the truth he knew but couldn’t accept into practice. He looked up at the sky, asking whatever God was left for reassurance or guidance where all choices felt wrong. Instead, all he saw was bare branches and the path ahead out of sight.</p>
<hr/><p>The three of them were in their tent, sitting on their respective cots. AJ was in Clementine’s arms as he almost always was, and they sat there. Waiting. The ceremony was tonight, Ava told them to stay here and relax while the others got things ready. There was something akin to cheeriness in her voice, it wasn’t often they got to have a feast or celebration, but for Luke this upcoming event ignited that ever present trepidation.</p><p>Luke’s eyes skirted around the floor of the tent before looking back at Clementine. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Clem. We could just...we could just go.” Luke looked to her, wanting to be assured of the choice they were about to make, or given freedom instead.</p><p>“No, we can’t do that…” Clementine shook her head, certainty was in her eyes but tentative reluctance in the rest of her expression. “We’re safe here, AJ is safe here. We have nowhere else to go and nothing to take with us...and we don’t want these people on our bad side.” Once again, Clementine’s judgement was the most astute. She knew too well the ways of this world. “I’ll just grit my teeth. Won’t be my worst scar.” Clem joked, but that just brought Luke more pangs of guilt.</p><p>The folds of the tent wall opened, Ava emerged again with Joan behind her. “You two ready?”</p><p>“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Clem shrugged. She stood up and placed AJ on her hip, Luke followed out behind her.</p><p>The bonfire, with its orange glow cast on the group, brought old memories back to Luke. Of the days before, when the church or farmers would throw a hoe-down or bonfire much the same in celebration of engagement or harvest. Old memories, sweet but now so stale they hurt to chew on.</p><p>From the fire, he saw another thing from his past, but these memories were more sour. Branding irons. The kind he remembered his father teaching him how to use. The sizzle of their cows’ and swines’ flesh and their screaming seared into his memory possibly more deeper than the marks had on their skin. He felt his neck sting already.</p><p>There was a bonfire already roaring, in the crackle of its hearth was deer meat and a Dutch oven full of stew. The logs and blankets for seating spread around it, and everyone from New Frontier was already chatting and relaxing, waiting for the man (and girl) of the hour. As clear as it could be these days; this was supposed to be a party. And one not <em>too</em> unlike those Luke remembered from his youth.</p><p>Luke and Clementine walked up to the fire, and the New Frontier members hollered out for them. They were welcomed with cheers, and with Joan attempting to take AJ from Clementine’s arms, but the girl resisted. David stood up from his spot at the fire, it’s orange glow illuminating him from behind. Beer in one hand and the other in his mouth, he whistled over for Clint and Lingard and waved for the others to join him. The group went silent, all showing their deference and respect for David, and soon the other leaders lined up beside him.</p><p>“Everyone,” David spoke to The New Frontier. To his soldiers, to his new family. “Tonight is a good night. Luke and Clementine have decided to make it official-” David was interrupted with a couple of cheers once again, and instead of baring his teeth he smiled with them. David in such a good mood was unusual. “Now, I’m not one for long, sappy speeches, so I’ll let Joan do the talking on this one.”</p><p>Joan, from beside David, stepped forward and looked directly at Luke and Clementine. Clementine didn’t trust this woman, but Luke tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Both tried to hold their peace with her. “Clementine, Luke, you’ve both made an important choice today.” Joan spoke, her usual air of diplomacy leached out with her cadence. “You made the choice to join our group, our community. No longer can you work to save your own skins, but must cooperate to save all of ours.”</p><p>From the other side of the fire, Badger stepped forward. In his hands was a blowtorch and the red-hot branding iron. He ignited the blowtorch and, with his eyes locked between them, began to heat it until it was white. </p><p>“To show this, you will take the mark we all have, and truly become New Frontier. This symbol binds us all, and will now bind you as well.” Joan held a measured gaze between these new members. Luke held back his own, steady but internally wavering, and Clementine held one almost a glare. The silence was almost unbearable.</p><p>“Luke, you’re up first.” David came around to Luke’s side and pushed him forward, closer to Badger and the other members. David held his hand out and was given the branding iron, now white-hot and angry. He gave Luke a glance, amused and almost ribbing.</p><p>Dr. Lingard came beside Luke as well, in his hands were disinfectant and bandages. “It doesn’t hurt for long.” Lingard said as he wiped down a patch on Luke’s neck. Luke didn’t believe him.</p><p>“Well.” Luke took a deep breath in to brace himself, and turned his back to the fire. Now all of New Frontier could see him, but he kept his eyes on Clementine. They held the same look as his. Confronted fear and resolution. “I’m ready.” Luke was met with cheers again, but not from who it mattered most. From her she got a sympathetic frown.</p><p>“Glad to hear it.” David clapped a hand onto the side of Luke’s neck. He held firm, holding him still, without knowing he really paralysed him.</p><p>Hands, hands on his neck, once again he was back there. The flaming eyes seared into him as he felt his own light go out, the burning in his throat from being unable to breathe. It all came back in an instant. Luke stood completely still in fear, his eyes unfocused and the singular branding iron phased out into Kenny’s eyes; his rageful eyes.</p><p>In the next second, with Badger twisting his head to the side, Luke really couldn’t breathe, and the pain came soon after. It was hard to tell where the choking ended and the burning began, but, oh, the burning did begin. The sigil was seared onto his left neck, closer to the base but not touching collarbone. Luke didn’t breathe, he didn’t think he could, even the air felt stolen away from him and replaced with fire, he jerked his arms but they were bound down as well. From Badger’s arms or lurkers, he could no longer tell. And after the minute or hours of the wound being made and cauterized, David pulled the rod away, flesh felt ripped away with it. And once it was gone and Badger no longer held him, Luke dropped to his knees. He began hacking and shaking, his hands buzzed in the light of the fire but he knew better than to touch the wound on his neck, he could feel the blood seep down and crust as soon as it hit the still burning flesh. </p><p>From the phasing-in edges of his hearing, he could hear David laughing. “Well, he’s taken it better than some of you.” Grumbled laughter of others receded in shadows.</p><p>“Luke!” Clementine was on the ground next to him, she held his shoulders and pulled his face up. She stared but did not touch the symbol either. “Holy fuck-” she said.</p><p>“He’ll be alright.” Dr. Lingard crouched down and looked into the younger man’s eyes, he could see how shaken he was. “Let’s get him to a bench.” With Clemetine’s help, the doctor was able to guide Luke to a bench near the bonfire, where he could gently disinfect and wrap his wound, despite how much Luke wanted to fight more hands around his neck. </p><p>Soon enough his breathing was less labored and less wheezing, he felt shaken but back to his usual self with Clementine sitting by his side. He looked at her and she looked at him, and the guilt shared was all too palpable and familiar.</p><p>By the fire, the branding iron was heated up with the blow torch, now almost white-hot again. Clementine gulped, and looked to her friend with a hardened face, it was easy to see how brave she was trying to be. But the fear was too obvious, Luke had known his friend too long and too well. He held out a hand, and she held it silently for the short moment they had.</p><p>“Clementine, you’re up.” David said, though the iron was no longer in his hands. </p><p>Joan held it, and her face was sympathetic but collected. “It’ll be over before you know it, Clementine.” She said.</p><p>Clementine was beckoned, and she pulled away from Luke without a word to him, but Luke held his attention on her. When he felt AJ stirring at his feet, he picked up the boy, and pushed the toddler’s face into his chest so he didn’t have to watch.</p><p>“Get it over with,” Clementine snipped, she tugged down the collar of her shirt and looked at them in contempt.</p><p>“No, Clem, roll your sleeve up.” Ava gestured to her own upper arm, to where her branding was. “We’re branding your arm.”</p><p>Clementine furrowed her brows in confusion, but did so, and rolled up her left sleeve to above her elbow. “Alright...” Clementine braced her arm from the top.</p><p>“One...two...” Joan held the iron over the correct spot, but pressed it down before she said three.</p><p>“Ahhhhh!” Clementine shouted and grimaced, hot tears of pain sprung to her eyes but she held still and didn’t double over until the iron was ripped away. “God fucking <em>hell damnit SHIT!”</em> A string of expletives left her mouth and Clementine stared at the new burn scar taking residence under her elbow. The New Frontier had claimed her now, and the angry red burn sizzling and bubbling on her skin confirmed it.</p><p>“That’s one hell of a mouth you got there, kid.” Badger said. He took the iron from Joan.</p><p>“Fuck you.” Clementine spat. At the moment Lingard came beside her with antiseptic and gauze, and Clementine pushed him away until she was beside Luke again.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” The man said to her as Lingard wrapped her arm up.</p><p>“It’s fine.” Clementine said, though she winced at the peroxide. “Besides. My dad used to be good at barbeque. I think he’d be proud.”</p><p>That, as fucked as it was, elicited a laugh from Luke. “Kid-” He put a hand on the top of her head and skewed her hat. “Keep saying shit like that and I’m gonna start hankering for ribs.”</p><p>“I think we might have some tonight. Venison ribs, but deer is leaner than beef.” Dr. Lingard said as he tied off Clementine’s gauze. “Now that this whole part of the ordeal is over; it is thankfully time to eat.” The older man gave the two a weary smile. “You earned it.”</p><p>With the people they just sold their skin to, they dined. Their fate for the first time in a long time felt almost a little more sound beneath their feet. The path forward, while not a choice, was one they could see. Little did they know that taking one step forward to fate, they had really doomed themselves. Like the symbols on their flesh, their fate was now sealed into their skin</p>
<hr/><p>Before too long, that night at the bonfire where Luke and Clementine were sealed to their vows became so far away. Winter took hold, and passed with nearly no incidents. Spring was once again at the cusp of itself, and new opportunities for growth were open to explore, and more chances were thrust upon them.</p><p>In only a few short months, the size of The New Frontier had nearly doubled. Their proximity to Richmond led many capable and desperate people to cross their path, and like with Clementine and Luke, and all other members, they were carefully selected and had to prove their mettle and worth.</p><p>The opportunities were not only thrust upon The New Frontier as an organization, but onto Luke himself. Given his pacifist demeanor and quick aptitude to mediate, as well as his relative seniority compared to much of the new members, Luke had found himself in somewhat of a leadership role. It wasn’t a fast transition or one he quickly realized he was in. Over time, the leaders of New Frontier had straddled him with more responsibilities, came to him for advisement on decisions, used him to help mediate personal gripes with other members and quell conflict, and soon enough, he found himself in meetings with Clint and Joan discussing greenhouse plans and with people following his orders.</p><p>Like most new developments, it came with trepidation and reflection on his past. Luke didn’t <em>enjoy</em> being a leader, but it was a role he had come to find himself in multiple times in his life. As a kid, he was charismatic and loud, other kids would gravitate towards him and listen. Once the apocalypse broke out, he still somehow found himself closer to authority than he felt he should. Carver trusted him. Once Pete and Sylvia died, his old group would look to him for answers he didn’t have and for guidance he didn’t feel suitable to give. Nick, well...Nick always seemed to take a backseat with Luke… And on the road with Clementine he felt responsible for making all their decisions, until he realized that he was just as reliant on Clementine as she was to him.</p><p>With more responsibility came changes to his life, as the two came hand in hand. Throughout the day he would see Clementine and AJ less and less, and sometimes he would be tasked with giving Clementine orders. The girl would listen and do what was needed of her, of course, but the change to their dynamic felt too off. Luke was used to treating her as an equal, as his closest friend, and as a sister, but the brief exchanges they could have as of late felt straining to that.</p><p>One drastic development, unfortunately, played into the subtle alienation felt between them. Due to the rapidly increasing New Frontier, tents had to be reallocated. Now there were separate tents for the men, women, and families; and Clementine, Luke, and AJ were not granted membership to the latter. Clementine and AJ were parceled off to the women’s bunk with Ava, Joan, and the other women, while Luke was separated to stay with Clint, David, and David’s soldiers. Luke tried not to mind, only spending time in his tent when he needed to sleep. Clementine did much the same, and Luke hadn’t heard her complain. He hoped she wasn’t complaining.</p><p>Life continued on, as the summer reared itself in the group resettled somewhere more high-ground at David’s behest. He thought it would give them an “advantage against the enemy.” Whether he was talking about the walking dead or other people was unclear. But as Luke had gotten to know the man he realized there was little distinction to David. An enemy was an enemy, humanity discarded in any context. His soldiers were much the same.</p><p>The resettlement took a few weeks as getting everyone to move things slowly and safely took a while, the fence needing to be built in advance. It was hard to ignore the similarities to Howe’s. Compulsive labor used to construct barriers felt all too familiar, and the recurret dread that Luke was making the same mistake by joining a group like this again plagued him. These were not anxieties he could share with anyone, of course, for fear of ostracization or even exile. Not even could he share this with Clementine; the girl had seen the fallout of Howe’s and Carver but she did not know the build up nor his role in it, which was information he didn’t want her to know, and speaking with her now would feel too odd with their current distance. And...and because something much worse. Clementine’s hands were already full, and soon his would be too.</p><p>AJ was sick. He had been sick for a while, and it had only gotten worse.</p><p>It started soon after their resettlement. Clementine had noticed AJ becoming more fussy, that it was harder for him to feel comfortable. He would cry if held certain ways and throw up more than usual. It wasn’t long before the fevers set in and AJ would push away food, but most worrying was the diarrea. It was constant. In only a few short days, AJ was hardly recognizable, he was tired, dehydrated, and almost listless. Luke, not being as around AJ as he once had been, took him to Dr. Lingard immediately once Clementine came to him. Unfortunately...it wasn’t soon enough.</p><p>Luke and Clementine stood pensively in Lingard’s medical tent as the doctor examined the two-year-old. The older man had a worried look on his face, the frown increased when the toddler cried at the slightest touch to his abdomen.</p><p>Clementine, ever protective, scooped the baby up from the examination table right out of Lingard’s hands. “So?” She cradled the boy in her arms. “What’s wrong with him?” She spoke curtly and sharply, her fear presented itself as anger. Luke put a hand on her shoulder and looked at AJ’s face.</p><p>“It appears to be an intestinal bacterial infection.” Paul Lingard removed his glasses and set them hanging on his neck. He rubbed his forehead with exhaustion and sadness. “It’s quite advanced… how long has he been sick?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know. A week?” Clementine sounded defensive. Seeing the disapproving look on Lingard’s face only made her more so. “He gets sick all the time! Ever since he was a baby… it just hasn’t been this bad before...”</p><p>Luke nodded, it was true. AJ frequently had colds and fevers, vomiting and diarrhea wasn’t unusual either. Luke knew it had to do with expired formula and being fed real food too soon, but they hadn’t been given any other choice. He always pulled through before...but now they had a doctor. “What can we do? You- you’ve got medicine, right?”</p><p>“There’s an antibiotic that we use for this type of infection: Vancomycin. But if it will help depends on how bad his symptoms have gotten.” Lingard confessed. “Clementine, is AJ able to take in any fluids? Have you found any blood in his stool?”</p><p>“Uhhh,” The girl faltered. “He drinks water when I make him… and yes.”</p><p>“What?” Luke looked at her in shock. “Clementine, why didn’t you say anything? You should have come to me.”</p><p>“You were busy!” Clementine was defensive. “That doesn’t matter anymore, we just need to give him the medicine and he’ll get better! Lingard, just go get it!”</p><p>“Oh, Clementine...” The deep frown lines on the doctor’s face increased, and his eyes pulled down in sympathy. “I’m afraid,” he spoke with a soft and kind voice, and reached out to touch her shoulder, “there’s nothing we can do.”</p><p>The girl briefly stood in shock. <em>“No,”</em> she pulled away from the men and held on tighter to her boy. “No! You can give him the drug and it’ll help!”</p><p>“Clementine, it’ll be wasted on him, it’ll just continue his suffering.” Lingard said.</p><p>“Whoa, whoa-” Luke said. “No, there has to be something. Clementine,” he looked to the girl with a face more stern than he meant. “Just calm down, we’ll figure this out. Lingard knows what he’s talkin’-”</p><p>“This is bullshit.” Clementine said, turning away from the men. “I’m going to Joan, she’ll set this right.” The girl pushed open the door and began to walk brusquely out the door.</p><p>“Clementine-” Luke tried to follow out after her, but when he grabbed her shoulder from behind the girl went running. “Wait- <em>Clem!”</em> Luke almost took off after her, but a hand from behind held his shoulder and he stopped.</p><p>“Let her go. She’s upset...it’s only natural.” Lingard said. He walked over to a chair, and wearily eased himself into it. “Your boy...he’s not gonna make it.”</p><p>“Jesus-” Luke put hands to the side of his head and pulled his hair in stress. “You can’t just...you’re not even gonna try?”</p><p>“I’ll try alright...but there’s not much I can do.” Lingard shrugged with the weight of a lifetime on his shoulders. “The vancomycin...we only have one dose left. It’s not meant for little kids, and AJ would need more than just one round of antibiotics...” Lingard pinched the bridge of his nose. “We just don’t have the resources he needs, and AJ wasn't in a good place to start with.”</p><p>The information hit Luke like a tidal wave. He felt sick, he felt pushed down and beat up. Fuck...fuck, he couldn’t lose this kid too. “What- what do you mean?”</p><p>Lingard sighed. “I’m an oncologist, not a pediatrician, but even I know that boy ain’t doing alright normally. You say he’s two, right?”</p><p>Luke nodded with pressed eyebrows.</p><p>“He’s two and he still can’t walk nor talk. Clementine says he’s been gettin’ sick all his life, and he’s clearly chronically malnourished. He don’t look more developed than a one year old.” Lingard sighed once again. He stood up and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, and came in close. “With what time you have left with that boy, I suggest you spend it by his side and making him comfortable.” Lingard shook his head sympathetically, and with a gentle squeeze to Luke’s shoulder, he took his leave out of his tent.</p><p>Luke stood there in shock, but what was said to him were things that deep down, he had known. Despite his and Clementine’s best efforts, AJ was sick, and he wasn’t thriving. They failed him, and failed Rebecca and Alvin, and all the people they lost along the way. And despite everything he wanted to believe, perhaps it was <em>impossible</em> to raise a child healthy and strong in this world. That if he did live, it would only be cruel to him, and make him cruel in return…</p><p>Perhaps Jane was right, in what she said to him after their child died. That it was for the best it didn’t have to suffer. </p><p>If Luke stayed too long in his thoughts, he knew he wouldn’t pull himself out. He got himself together, and left the tent as well in search of Joan. If Clementine hadn’t found her yet, then Luke would, and he would ask to spend AJ’s last days by his side.</p>
<hr/><p>It had been three days since AJ’s diagnosis. Now that they knew what was wrong, they were able to get him to drink some more and get his fever down, but the strength that did give him was fleeting.</p><p>Once they spoke with Joan, the woman was highly sympathetic. She gave Luke and Clementine one of the tents allotted for family so they could be with AJ and keep him comfortable. But to their dismay, Joan had agreed with Lingard that the vancomycin would not be of use. Clementine was angry, still convinced it would work, but Luke had felt himself resigned to this tragedy.</p><p>It was hard not to remember his own child. The one he buried without a look or a name. As he held AJ in the night, the boy whimpering and wheezing, he tried not to think of what would have happened to his own. That the grief he felt then and carried with him now from that loss was nothing compared to what could have happened, or what was coming soon. That the boy he had raised for two years and lost everyone to keep safe was now going to pass as well. AJ would die, it was too late for him, but at least he would no longer suffer, and it wasn’t a violent end. He wouldn’t have to grow up in a world too many couldn’t take, nor have to become as hardened and endure as much trauma as the girl who loved him so much.</p><p>Clementine, though, wasn’t going to take this sitting down. As she always had to, she would fight and take what she needed. AJ needed that medicine and deserved it, and she would do what she needed to get it for him by all means necessary.</p><p>It was later in the night. Dinner had finished hours ago, and Luke had fallen asleep in their tent with AJ in his arms, the boy asleep as well. Clementine crouched, and very carefully took the toddler without waking the man. </p><p>The boy, now awake, whimpered from his pain, but Clementine shushed him.</p><p>“Shhh-” she held a finger to his face. “Be quiet, goofball, okay?”</p><p>Clementine crouched behind a tree with AJ in her arms, she was trying to make it to Lingard’s medical tent, but was stopped by the laughter of David and his soldiers. They sat around the fire together late in the evening, reminiscing on their old army days. A common occurrence here at the camp. She watched carefully for the right moment to pass by.</p><p>“We’re gonna get you the medicine you need, AJ. I don’t care what they say.” Clementine said, she stroked the young child’s back to ease his discomfort and whimpering.</p><p>Clementine slinked off into the shadows, skirting around the soldier’s eyesight in order to get to Lingard’s tent. She snuck in quietly and placed AJ down on top of a white cooler. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man passed out on the cot. It was Lingard, he looked...off. There were deep circles around his eyes, and he looked so still he almost seemed dead. For a second, Clementine was startled, and her quiet gasp was followed by AJ coughing and crying.</p><p>“Hey, AJ. Please, you <em>have</em> to be quiet.” Clementine said in a hushed voice. Doctor Lingard looked out, but she still didn’t want to risk David’s men hearing them. The boy quieted down, and she took a look over at Lingard again. Now sure he was asleep, she took the chance to look through the medicine, some was left in an open chest on the table beside her. She first examined a bottle of pills, she picked it up to read the label.</p><p><em>"Rivaroxaban."</em> Clem shook her head. “No, I don’t think this is it.” As she did often, she spoke to herself while figuring things out. She set the bottle back in the medicine chest and picked up another. <em>“Divalproex?</em> Not that one.” Setting that bottle down, she spotted a little bottle of liquid. “Here it is,” her excitement was quickly dashed to exhausted disappointment. “It would have to be a shot…” Clementine picked up the needle and bottle, staring at it’s sharp point she shook her head. “Shit.”</p><p>The girl crouched down and turned back to AJ. “Hang in there goofball, this is gonna get you better.” She jabbed the needle into the foil on the top and siphoned out an unspecified but large dose of the drug, then squeezed an equally arbitrary amount off the top to get rid of air bubbles. As she did so, the man beside her began to rouse.</p><p>The doctor stirred on his cot, and propped himself up by an elbow with his hand on his forehead. “Clem?”</p><p>“Doctor Lingard?” Clementine said, surprised he woke up, but then concerned by his odd demeanor. “What’s the matter with you?”</p><p>The doctor shook his head, more to clear his own mind than to dismiss her. “I’m...I’m fine.” His speech was struggling and slurred, more so than his usual Southern drawl. “Clem, please don’t. The vancomycin...that’s the last of it. It’ll be wasted on AJ. I told you,” His voice was pleading and strained, “It could save someone’s life if used right.”</p><p>“It’s the only thing that can save him.” Clementine said. She was earnest and determined. It had to.</p><p>“Except it can’t.” Lingard shook his head.</p><p>The girl scowled back at him.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he sounded genuine. “I tried everything. I-I really did.”</p><p>“This <em>will</em> help him get better.” Clementine was stubborn, in this world she had no choice but to be.</p><p>“Nothing can help your boy now.” He sighed, weary of this all. “Clem, put the drugs back. Before anyone finds out you took ‘em.” Lingard wanted to help the girl, he was willing to let this all go away.</p><p>Clementine considered it. She glanced between AJ and the syringe pensively.</p><p>“You know what they do to thieves here. There’s still time.” The doctor rasped.</p><p>“I have to try...” Clementine grabbed AJ’s arm. The boy whimpered and squirmed at her clutch. “Come on, goofball. I need you to be brave for me now, okay?” The toddler wriggled a little less after hearing her calming voice. “See? It’s not so bad.”</p><p>Clementine swiftly injected into his arm, and as soon as she did AJ scrunched up his sallow face and cried.</p><p>“AJ! Shhh-” Clementine whisper-yelled. She looked to the fire with David’s men, looking to see if they heard his wailing.</p><p>And it seems they had. David was soon at her tail, he stepped brusquely at the front of the tent blocking her exit. “What the hell is this?” He asked loudly.</p><p>Clementine scooped up AJ into her arms and held him tight, looking for some way out.</p><p>“I told her it was a bad idea!” Lingard spoke up, his speech very slurred.</p><p>Clementine dashed out of the tent, but was stopped by Ava who had come to see what was going on just outside of it. AJ was still crying, and David turned his attention to Lingard to look at him.</p><p>“Are you fucking high <em>again?”</em> David walked over to Lingard and pulled him up by his arms. “Pull yourself together before the others see you. I’ll deal with the damn kid.” David growled, and turned to look at Clementine. There was anger in his eyes almost too familiar. “What the fuck were you thinking?!” The army man yelled. “You were told those drugs <em>couldn’t</em> help him. How could you be so <em>stupid?!</em> So <em>selfish!”</em></p><p>“I had nothing left to lose! AJ was gonna <em>die</em> if I didn’t.” Clementine justified herself.</p><p>“He’s gonna die anyway!” David’s tone turned accusatory. “And that waste? That’ll cost someone’s <em>life</em> down the road. Someone in this camp! Someone who contributes to our <em>survival.”</em></p><p>“Come on, David.” Ava interjected. She was more compassionate and understanding than her friend. “She was just trying to help her kid.”</p><p>“We helped <em>enough!”</em> He shouted. “We should’ve left them out in the woods when you found them!”</p><p>It was then that the commotion awoke Luke. Their new tent wasn’t too far from the fire, and David’s voice carried. The young man sat up from his cot, and quickly realized AJ was no longer in his arms and Clementine not by his side. <em>Oh no. What did she do?</em> Luke had known David and the girl had problems with each other, David thought she was a troublemaker and disrespectful, while Clementine thought he was a hardass and callous. Had this come to a head? Luke quickly started to lace up his boots and find where the altercation was occurring.</p><p>“But- look! It’s helping!” Clementine said, pointing out that AJ had stopped crying.</p><p>“It doesn’t work that way, Clem. You bought him a peaceful moment. Nothing more. I wish...I could tell you it could save him...but that’s not the reality.” Lingard gently explained.</p><p>“Then it was worth it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Her voice sounded on the verge of crying.</p><p>“Without a goddamn thought for anyone else.” David paused for a scathing glare. “We opened our arms to you! Made you one of us. <em>This</em> is how you repay us!?! By <em>stealing!</em> By putting yourself before the group!” He shook his head. “You’re done here. You broke our rules, Clem.” He stepped forward and gestured emphatically. “Violated our trust. There’s no place for you in The New Frontier.”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa! Hold on, what the hell happened?” Luke finally walked over and joined in, he was unsure what had just happened.</p><p>“Your brat, here, is a thief.” David said, he scowled at Luke.</p><p>“I made the right call.” Clementine asserted herself, unphased in the brunt of his yelling. “One <em>you</em> refused to make.” She glared at David and Lingard, but also at Luke. His inaction earned her resentment as well.</p><p>David shrugged. “Well- I’m making one now.” He growled, “Get your shit, and get out.”</p><p>The full situation had not come to Luke, but it’s gravity hit him and pulled him in. “David! You can’t do that. She’s just a kid!” The shock was hard to process.</p><p>“Maybe we should give her another chance-” Lingard’s voice drawled.</p><p>“Don’t fight me on this, Paul.” David furrowed his brows at the doctor, and then to Luke. “You both know what Joan would say if she were here.” He thought the greenhorn should know how shit worked by now. “I’m sorry, Clem. You brought this on yourself.” He didn’t sound apologetic.</p><p>Clementine scowled. “Come on, AJ. We don’t need this place anyway.” She started to turn to walk away, but was stopped by Ava and one of David’s goons.</p><p>“Uh-uh.” David said. “He stays. You can’t take him with you. That ship is sailed.”</p><p>Clementine was shocked, her expression faltered before she turned back to David. “I’m not leaving without him.”</p><p>“Clementine, David, everyone! Can we all just take a moment to-” Luke tried to speak up once again, tried to smooth things over and work it out, but he was interrupted by the doctor.</p><p>“AJ can’t travel. All we can do now is make him comfortable-” Lingard tried to speak, but he too was interrupted. Everyone was speaking over one another in the chaos.</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em> leaving without him.” Clementine asserted to the men. Firstly to David and Lingard, but secondly to Luke. Why wasn’t he defending her? Why wasn’t he going to go with?</p><p>“Let him go, Clem...he’ll only drag you down out there. It’s what’s best for both of you.” Ava said, coming closer to Clementine.</p><p>All the adults come in closer, making Clementine feel trapped in. In that moment, Ava ripped AJ from her arms while another one of David’s goons pushed her away. AJ started wailing once more. Luke took the child from Ava and held onto him tight, doing the best he could in these crazy few seconds. He stared at Clementine and the goons trying to process this.</p><p>“No! You monsters!” Clementine yelled. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the long-healed symbol burned into her skin. “What about this? What was it all for?” She outstretched her arms in confusion. “Don’t forget, I’m one of you!”</p><p>“Not. Anymore.” David said again, he crossed his arms and stepped forward to try to push her away further.</p><p>There was a tense pause between them all. Luke looked around at everyone’s faces for answers or for what to say, just anything to tell him what to do in this situation. But Clementine looked at him, betrayed he didn’t say anything.</p><p>“Let her say goodbye. We owe her that much at least.” Ava said.</p><p>“Fine. You heard her,” David stepped aside so Clem can see AJ and Luke. “Say what you need to say, then go. Please don’t make me regret this.”</p><p>Clem walked forward slowly, soon taking hold of AJ’s little hands. After letting out a soft, dry sob, she spoke. “I-I love you, goofball.” She rose up on her toes to kiss his head. “I love you.” Now, for the first time in a long time, the girl was crying, her hard shell shattered.</p><p>“Clem-” Luke handed AJ to Lingard and tried to say goodbye to her, or say anything of comfort. He crouched down some and held out his arms for her. He leaned forward, and tried to hug her. “Clementine, it’s not too late. I’ll stay and make sure he’s comfortable-”</p><p>What he nor anyone else expected was for Clementine to push him away. She pushed his arms away from her and stepped back, on her face was written the utter betrayal she felt. “Are you serious, Luke?! You didn’t do <em>anything</em> either. You chose <em>them</em> over me and AJ. What would Rebecca say?! Or Alvin?! Or everyone else!”</p><p>Luke didn’t know what to say, his mouth and eyes were wide in shock, and his heart felt crushed.</p><p>“Come on, Clem.” David said, his voice a bit softer but still stern. He put a hand on her shoulder and tried to pull her away.</p><p>The girl didn’t take his ushering. She shrugged David’s hand off and spat upwards at his face. <em>”Fuck</em> you, David!” Her hard shell was now shattered, but the shards made her more cutting.</p><p>“Really, Clem?” Ava said, her voice disappointed.</p><p>David scowled and wiped his face. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” He let out a demeaning and amused chuckle.</p><p>“Clementine!” Luke said, his brows were furrowed in shock and gut disapproval.</p><p>“And fuck you too Luke!” Clementine said, she wiped her face off. Now she was crying harder.</p><p>One of David’s goons grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out into the woods. She ripped herself out of his grip and started walking.</p><p>“I’m going! Fuck all of you.”</p><p>As Clementine walked away, she wiped her eyes before crossing her arms tightly. AJ, now in Luke’s arms once more, reached out his little arm. In a heartbreaking and small voice, the little boy yelled out for his caretaker.</p><p>“Clem!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so that’s it! hope it was suspenseful and set things up in a cool way. we didn’t get a lot of info about the new frontier pre-richmond, but i hope this looks good.</p><p>in the original story AJ was given vancomycin, which is an antibiotic for certain intestinal infections. idk how it would “buy him a peaceful moment” but that’s what was written.<br/> <br/>  <del>also there was a choice between saying goodbye or spitting in david’s face. but we deserve BOTH.</del></p><p>important note: next chapter starts the content and story that was actually in S3. for particular reasons considering pacing and themes, the next three chapters are going to be episode 3 and beyond. i <em>highly</em> suggest you either re-play or re-watch a play through of S3 so you remember what happened in the story, because it will likely be confusing to write. the particular choices my play story will take that i can remember off the top of my head are: conrad lives, tell ANF about mariana, don’t kill max, shoot joan (may change that), spare tripp, and javi goes with clementine to save gabe/david. these may change but basically what path i’m going to take.</p><p>see you then! the last three chapters will be long :0</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Skin We're In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so you know how i said last chapter was long...this one is <em><b>this one is 53 goddamn pages.</b></em></p><p>so uh. get somewhere comfortable and please drop a comment or something. goddamn.</p><p>this chapter follows episode 3. if you don't remember episodes 1 or 2, basically what happened was that Javier, Kate, and the kids got in an altercation with NF members in a junkyard, javier got separated from them and kidnapped, clementine "saved" him and took him to prescott, she got in an altercation with a guy there and javier defended her. in the morning they went to get the family from the junkyard, where a shootout happened and mariana was killed and kate was shot. after getting back to prescott, the compound was soon attacked by the same assholes, who killed conrad's girlfriend and flooded the place with walkers. they got out and were trying to get to richmond to get kate help and there was some drama between conrad and clementine in the tunnels. this starts off right after they are found at the gate.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s something about this world that makes sense to David, that calms him. Things were simple: loyalty and survival were all he needed to be concerned with, and the enemies around him were known. Walkers are easy enough to deal with. Just put a bullet in them. But people? What the hell do you do with those?</p><p>David was a military man and he always would be. The Army may be long gone, and the war in Iraq cut short before Bush put his boots on the ground in Iraq, but his body still held in him the training. His voice still had the authority of the Staff Sergeant he was and his men would still follow him. Even now he was a leader to a platoon, in a new kind of war that ravaged every day.</p><p>David only could accept things that made sense. Taking over Richmond last fall made sense, and he and his men did quick work under Joan’s direction. They secured the perimeter, set up the gates, and have been slowly expanding block by block ever since. Orders made sense, hierarchies made sense, fighting made sense, loyalty made sense.</p><p>But he couldn’t make sense of this. Seeing his family at the gates after they had been long dead for years.</p><p>“Oh my God.” David’s voice was in low disbelief as he stared into the face of his brother, weathered through the years. In his brother’s arms was his wife, limp, but still the beautiful woman he thought he lost.</p><p>“Dad?”</p><p>David looked to Javier’s right, and there was his son. Gabriel was older now, so big that David didn’t <em>recognize</em> him, but that’s his son alright That’s his boy. Everyone, the Garcías, their guests, and the guards, stood in shocked silence for a moment.</p><p>“Javi?!” David took a step forward at the dirt threshold of the gate. “Is that really you?”</p><p>“God! You have no idea how good it is to see your face…” On his younger brother’s face was happiness, but tinged with pain and disbelief. </p><p>For the young woman with a baseball hat behind him, it was just unease. A sentiment shared by the silver-haired giant behind her, the long haired and bearded ruffian, and the blue-eyed black man along with them.</p><p>David smiled, “I think I have a pretty good idea, actually.”</p><p>Gabriel ran up to his father, and hugged him tight. “I knew you were still alive. I knew it!” Gabriel’s enthusiasm was heartwarming, but it was met with the hostility of the guards. Around him, David’s men pointed their weapons onto Gabe, waiting for the signal from David to shoot.</p><p>“Weapons down!” David waves his hand at his inferiors before holding onto his son. Gabriel was so tall now, not the little boy he lost six years ago... “This is my family!”</p><p>“You gotta listen.” Javier walked forward to David and the man pulled away from his son to look. “Kate doesn’t have much longer-”</p><p>“Jesus- Kate!” David rushed to her. Just now he noticed the blood soaking her shirt, which before had been held to Javier’s chest.</p><p>Kate opens her eyes. In a faint voice, she acknowledged him. “David?”</p><p>David grasps hold her hand. “I’m right here-” He looked up to his brother and yelled “What the hell happened?!”</p><p>“She’s been shot. We got the bullet out, but she’s still bleeding.” Javier answered.</p><p>David had a morose look on his face, he can’t lose his wife again.</p><p>“We <em>need</em> your doctor. Now, David.” Javier was urgent, and David listened.</p><p>David inhaled to collect himself, take in his next action. “Thanks, Javi,” He took his wife from his brother’s arms into his, “For getting her here.” He looked up at the gate to Max, his inferior. “She’s coming inside!”</p><p>“But she hasn’t been checked!” The beanied redneck yelled back.</p><p>This is my <em>wife,</em> Max. You want her to die?”</p><p>Max jumped with unease. <em>Shit, that was his wife?</em> The junkyard incident came back to his mind. “Nope! I didn’t say that.” Max lowered his gun and raised the gate.</p><p>“Our doctor’s gonna help you, honey. I’m gonna make sure of it.” David spoke in a low, reassuring voice to her as he turned to walk her in.</p><p>Gabe stepped forward to follow his father. “Wait! I-I’m going with you.” The teen scampered up behind into the gated settlement.</p><p>While the teen was able to follow his father in, the rest of the group only took one step forward before they were stopped. The soldiers cock their guns and a woman speaks up.</p><p>“Sorry, but the rest of you have to go straight to quarantine.” A female soldier spoke up. She had sunglasses and her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.</p><p>“What for?” Tripp questioned, he was annoyed with this situation.</p><p>“All newcomers get checked for bites, and they all have to answer a couple of questions.” The soldier said.</p><p>Javier squinted in distrust, the rest of his group was displeased as well.</p><p>“Our doctor will clear the two of them,” She motioned with her head to Gabe and Kate, “But the rest of you have to come with me to the quarantine holding area.”</p><p>“Kate’s going to the hospital, then so am I.” Javier tried to insist. He wouldn’t lose them again.</p><p>“Not yet. First, you go through quarantine, then we’ll see.” The woman soldier started walking back through the gate, expecting the group to follow behind her.</p><p>“Ah, this is bullshit.” Trupp muttered under his breath.</p><p>“Come on!” She beckoned again.</p><p>“Hey! David!” Javier called out to his brother. David slightly tilted his head, but chose to ignore his brother and kept walking.</p><p>“Let’s go.” The soldier spoke again. Next time, she wouldn’t be so nice.</p><p>The group, having no choice, filed in behind her with begrudging compliance to their prisonership.</p><hr/><p>With armed escorts, the group was taken to the New Frontier’s “quarantine.” It was a locker room in the basement of a building, with a couple benches and a broken sink, and bars on the single window near the upper ceiling. <em>Great,</em> Clementine thought to herself, <em>how am I going to get out of this?</em> It took her another second or two to realize that the room was light, looking up there were lightbulbs on. Electricity? Damn, the New Frontier has been advancing since she was gone...Clementine didn’t want to stick around to see what else they had gotten up to…</p><p>It had been a little over a year since her excommunication. It was a muggy summer night that she last saw Luke and AJ, and now the air was getting crisp while the mud clung to her boots in Virginia autumn fashion. She stormed out that night with nothing, and with nowhere to go she returned to the rickety bus that Ava found her in. Ava found her again, bringing some bare-boned supplies for her, at both Ava’s and Luke’s behest. That night she said that Luke would sort it out, that Clementine should just sit tight until this blew over. But Clementine refused. The girl was angry, and she was hurt, so she ran away.</p><p>Without a car she couldn’t go far. She spent the last year around the greater Richmond area scavenging and trading. She was able to make a bit of a life for herself bouncing between settlements, trading goods from one to the other for just enough profit for meals and bullets. In the vast suburbs and woods, she found enough to scrape on by.</p><p>There were people who helped her, or took pity on her, and offered her a permanent place at their settlements. She was young, and valuable, they wanted her to be alright. Tripp had been one of those people, but Clementine pushed them away. Now almost fourteen, she was hard and snappish, and she didn’t trust so easily anymore. She wasn’t the cute little girl she was at the start of all this.</p><p>She wanted to get out of here, out of Virginia. This place held too many memories, and the proximity to New Frontier was too much to accept. She thought she found a ticket out when she crashed that truck, but out came Javier and a whole new slew of trouble. Now she was back in the New Frontier’s clutches and screwed more than she was before. Fuck, dear god, fuck. For now, she’d try to keep her head down, and wait until she could slip away or they inevitably got kicked out.</p><p>The door screeched behind her and was locked, and now it was just her and the rest of the group in quarantine. She went over to the back benches and sat next to Conrad. After giving the man a pissed-off glare for trying to use her as leverage back in the sewers, she closed her eyes and crossed her arms to lean back against the wall. Maybe she could get a moment of rest, but instead she would listen to the other’s conversation.</p><p>Eleanor stood up when she heard the door opening and saw the group. She had been brought here hours ago and waiting to hear what happened. “Tripp?” She saw her fellow Prescott member.</p><p>“Oh my god! Eleanor!” The large man rushed over to Eleanor and they embraced, happy to see one another alive. “We found the car without you in it...I didn’t know <em>what</em> to think.”</p><p>“The engine up and died.” Eleanor briefly crossed arms and looked at Javi. “I came here looking for help, and <em>this-”</em> she gestured to the nasty locker room, “happened. I’ve been so worried about Kate.” The Thai woman turned to fully face Javier. “I told them she needed a doctor. They told me someone would look into it. Please, tell me they found her.”</p><p>“They definitely didn’t look for her. ‘Cause she was still in the car.” Javier said, it was clear he was angry.</p><p>Eleanor’s expression turned from worried to angry. “But that’s crazy! I told them she was <em>dying!”</em></p><p>“Clearly it wasn’t a priority.” Javier shook head, getting madder at New Frontier by the minute.</p><p>“Well at least those assholes realized she needed a hospital once they saw ‘er.” Tripp said. He was bargaining more than defending.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Javi. Really, but...I didn’t have any reason not to believe them.” Eleanor apologized.</p><p>Javi and Tripp share a tense look, and Clementine opened her eyes to join in.</p><p>Eleanor brought a confused look to Tripp. “What?”</p><p>“The people here in Richmond-” Tripp said, “They’re <em>New Frontier.”</em></p><p>Shocked, the woman put a hand to her mouth as she turned away. “Oh my god…” She thought of all the people from her settlement, all the lives that were lost just a day ago… She hadn’t even gone back yet because the place was still overrun with walkers. They had no idea who made it out.</p><p>Tripp let out a hardy sarcastic laugh. “You ain’t even heard the worst part yet.” He knelt down to speak eye-level to Eleanor, who was then sitting on the bench. “One of them’s his <em>brother.”</em> Tripp gives an accusatory glare at Javier, one the rest of the group follows. “I didn’t even know you <em>had</em> a brother, Javi.”</p><p>“Hey, nobody’s more surprised than me. I thought the guy was dead. We haven’t seen David in <em>years,”</em> Javier’s eyes cast down, he is still shocked by seeing him. “It’s just been me, Kate, and the kids this whole time.”</p><p>“I don’t even wanna think about what the odds are, but he did seem pretty damn surprised to see you.” Jesus chimed in.</p><p>Eleanor stopped holding herself and stood up. “Whoever this guy is, he can’t be <em>all</em> bad. Can he? I mean, he helped Kate instead of hauling her down here.”</p><p>“Course he brought her inside, she’s his damn <em>wife.”</em> Tripp glared at Javier again.</p><p>“You’re kidding.” Eleanor looked at Javi in surprise, there was a pause in the conversation. “Kate is married to your brother? The way you two acted around each other...I just didn’t think she had a husband out there, that’s all.”</p><p>“Let’s just say it’s complicated, alright?” Javier answered, his shoulders lifted up in a half-conciliatory shrug.</p><p>“Maybe it’s my fault for jumping to conclusions. Makes sense you’d be so close, considering…” Eleanor tried to explain herself, but her words were stilted and even more awkward.</p><p>“Family drama aside, hope you know I’m not about to make <em>nice</em> with New Frontier.” Tripp said the name of their captors like it was an insult. He then looked and spoke directly to Javi. “I know you didn’t have much stake in Prescott, Javi, but they burned that place to the ground for no <em>fuckin’</em> reason.”</p><p>“After everything you folks ‘ve told me, I’m guessin’ I’m not gonna find my people alive.” Jesus interjects, a solemn look casts down on his eyes.</p><p>“Hell, Javi. They killed your niece! Shot Kate! For all we know, your brother could have been behind it!” Tripp was still yelling at Javier, as if the former baseball player had been defending them at all.</p><p>Javier looked away pensively, taking it all in. It was a lot of information that he had to suddenly absorb after not sleeping three days and having tons of life-changing shit happen to him.</p><p>“If it wasn’t his idea in the first place - if he knew about it and didn’t stop it - that shit. Can’t. Stand.” Tripp said.</p><p>“That’s one hell of an accusation. Saying he had his own family shot? You’d really believe he’d do something like that? After seeing how he was with Kate?” Javier defended his brother.</p><p>“Could be he’s just putting on a show for us-” Tripp argued.</p><p>“That’s crazy.” Javier sternly furrowed his eyebrows, ignoring the pain of his cut.</p><p>“Clementine,” Jesus approached the girl. “You were part of the New Frontier. Did you know David?”</p><p>Clementine looked up from her spot at the bench to all of the adults, he plans for escape disappearing from her thoughts for the moment. “I knew him. If I’m being honest,” Clementine shook her head, “He’s not a good guy.”</p><p>“Is that right?” Tripp said in an angry, damning voice.</p><p>“If you told me he was the one behind Prescott, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Clementine added, not helping Javier’s case at all.</p><p>“He does have a temper...I’ve taken the brunt of it a few times.” Javier said honestly.</p><p>“I can imagine.” Clementine nodded. She had only been around David for a while, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to grow up with that dude.</p><p>There was a short, tense pause, and for a moment the group was sympathetic to Javi.</p><p>“What happened at the gates, the fact that he’s your brother, that doesn’t change anything.” Conrad spoke up, his mind already determined. “I’m gonna find the man that killed Francine. These people <em>better</em> not get in my way. “</p><p>“We need to look like we’re playing along with their rules. Go along with what they say. For now. Then, when the time is right, <em>that’s</em> when we demand justice.” Javier tried to set up a plan that would keep them all safe.</p><p>The group all stopped talking and looked over as the door opened, and after the screeching stopped David appeared. All fear he may have overheard what they were just talking about.</p><p>“Hey.” David said to his brother.</p><p>Javier quickly shared a wary glance with Tripp and Conrad. “Hey?”</p><p>“I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to take care of-...something.” The older García brother was being cagey. “C’mon already, Kate’s been asking for you.”</p><p>Javi and the group looked at one another, and David turned back towards the door to try to get him to come again.</p><p>“Or maybe you think it’s okay to keep a lady waiting.”</p><p>“Well what about the rest of my friends?” Javier gestured with his hand to the rest of the group.</p><p>“They’re not invited. Hurry up now.” David stayed stern.</p><p>Javier started to follow David up the stairs, listening to his brother’s orders. He’s just trying to play along, but the rest of the group looks angry.</p><p>“Looks like the rules don’t apply to everyone, huh?” Tripp remarked from behind.</p><p>“That’s right.” David turned around again to stare down Tripp. “Some people get out of here early. Others stay a long <em>fuckin’</em> time.”</p><p>“Tripp- just drop it. Okay?” Eleanor said to her ex. The man listened, and took a step back from the confrontation.</p><p>“Smart cookie, this one.” David looked the woman up and down. “What’s your name?”</p><p>“It’s Eleanor…” She seemed uncomfortable with the prying and crossed her arms.</p><p>David looked the woman in the face once more, studying it. <em>Could it be? Is she Joan’s Eleanor?</em></p><p>“Javi, just go…” The woman said, uncomfortable by David’s gaze.</p><p>“I’ll be back as soon as I can. You know that.” Javier reassured her, but also the rest of the group.</p><p>“Thanks…” Eleanor said.</p><p>Javier then followed his brother out of the room. Before David shut and locked the door, however, a familiar face caught his eye. <em>Clementine.</em> The two glared at one another until the door creaked itself shut, and the bolt lock was set back down.</p><hr/><p>Out from the quarantine basement, David led his younger brother to the square. The broad daylight took a minute for Javier to adjust to, but once he did he was met with a sight he hadn’t seen in a long time. There were people, families, even, walking around and children playing. In the patches of dirt that would have just been some plain lawn in a park were filled instead with crop beds, brimming with produce. People were working and pruning the gardens under a vandalized statue, a relic of an old world.</p><p>“You ‘go along with them for now?’” David looked over at his brother. “That doesn’t sound good.”</p><p>Javier then realized David <em>did</em> overhear.</p><p>“We have a process here. You’re guys better not have a problem with that. Things don’t go well for trouble makers here.”</p><p>“David, you threw us in a cell.” Javier pauses his steps. “Don’t expect us to smile about it.”</p><p>Once a few paces ahead, David stopped and turned around to talk to Javi. The distance between them is ever so present. “We do that to protect our people. It’s not personal.”</p><p>“You sure about that?”</p><p>“Come on.” David huffed and kept walking.</p><p>Javier took a look around as they entered further into the square and stayed following David. “Where are we going?”</p><p>“Kate asked for you. I thought you’d wanna check on her.” David paused and stopped walking, his face became more grim. “I was catching up with Gabe,” He glared at Javier behind him, “He told me some pretty messed up things. Things I need your help wrapping my head around.”</p><p>Javier stayed quiet, unsure what he meant.</p><p>“He told me you lost Mariana!” David yelled in anger and grief. “Just a few days ago…”</p><p>“I’m sorry, David…” Javier’s face falters, the pain is still so new to him. “She’s...she’s gone.”</p><p>David needed a moment for it to sink in, he walked slowly until he found a place to set his feet and stare at the community children playing. His daughter, his little girl… She was still alive just a few days ago. She could have been here right now, right by his side, if he only saved her in time.</p><p>“It’s strange grieving for the same person twice. Like losing something you didn’t know you had…” David had grieved his daughter once before, and now he would have to do it again. This time without knowing who she was becoming. “What was she like, Javi? She was so little when we got separated...who did my little girl become?”</p><p>“We got along well.” Javi stepped over to be by David’s side, clearing their distance for just a moment. “Her smile kept me going through a lot of rough times.”</p><p>“That...must have been nice.” David paused, a sad, small smile stretched his lips faintly. “How-how did she die? Tell me how it happened.”</p><p>“She was just standing there, minding her own business. She just found her lost headphones in the dirt and she was <em>smiling.”</em>Javi’s voice was pained, the wound still fresh. “And then someone put a bullet in her head.”</p><p>David looked despaired. “What kind of animal would just open fire on her like that?”</p><p>“An animal with <em>your</em> mark.” Javier gave David a damning glare, and his voice halfway to a growl.</p><p>“My people aren’t in the habit of killing little girls.” David got defensive.</p><p>“David, I was <em>there.</em> They shot Kate too! Ask your buddy at the gate if you don’t believe me.”</p><p>“Max was a part of this?” David said in disbelief. He looked up to the gate where Max was still standing. The other man is too far away to be in earshot, but he sees them glaring. David breaks eye contact with him.  “Fuck…” The brothers started on the move again. “I need details. What the hell went down out there? I need to know <em>exactly</em> what happened.”</p><p>“They ambushed at the junkyard. Just unloaded on us. Bastards knocked me out and threw me in their truck. I got away near this town, Prescott. The same assholes attacked us there. Their leader flooded it with walkers and tear gas.”</p><p>“Leader?” David questioned, last he knew David was the only one in charge.</p><p>“Crazy bald guy with a beard.”</p><p>David looks off to recount, he knows who Javier is speaking about. “Badger.” He growled. “What the fuck have you done now?” Badger had always been bad news. Back in their squad he was always starting shit, and when the world ended he took it as a personal mission to make this world more like hell. David looked at Javi again and swore to him. “I’m gonna handle that stupid son of a bitch, okay? Do me a favor, keep this to yourself. The politics here - they can get messy.”</p><p>Javi squinted in confusion. “I thought you were the boss.”</p><p>“There are five of us that run Richmond. You need to impress the other four, or you’ll be back on the road by morning.” David informed his brother as they kept walking. “Try not to stir things up? Or you and your friends could have a very short stay.”</p><p>“I can be impressive when I try. I’ll follow your lead.”</p><p>“Just don’t get cute.” David furrowed his brows back at his brother. “I run security here. It’s not like my word is law, and that shit with Badger doesn’t make things any easier.”</p><p>As they cut through the square, they approach two members of the New Frontier. A bald woman with a nasty scar on her scalp and a man about Javier’s age with long brown hair. They were speaking with one another, until the woman noticed David and spoke to him instead.</p><p>“Who’s the fresh meat?” Ava said, looking up and down the man next to him.</p><p>“Ava, this is my brother, Javi.”</p><p>“Baseball brother?” The woman seemed somewhat surprised, but didn’t show it.</p><p>“Eh, baseball’s long gone. Just regular old ‘survivor brother’ now.” Javier held out hand for the woman to shake.</p><p>“Hm…” The woman takes his hand firmly. “From what I hear, there’s nothing regular about you.”</p><p>David went to stand by Ava instead, and put a hand on her shoulder to display his trust in her. “Ava’s my right hand. If there’s anyone you can trust in Richmond, it’s her.” He then looked to the man by Ava’s other side, and gestured to him with a wave of his hand. David seemed noticeably less familiar with this man. “And this is Luke, he's another member of the council. Come on little brother, make a good first impression.”</p><p>“Hi, there.” The man lifted his eyebrows and gave Javier a friendly smile before holding out his hand to shake. He spoke in a Southern accent, and his hair was pulled back into a bun, through some flyaway locks hung down to frame his face. He had facial hair, scruffy and not too unlike Javier’s. Maybe that’s why Javier thought he was handsome, if that isn’t too conceited to say. “David hasn’t told me much about you, but it’s nice to meet his family.” Luke glanced over at David. It was true that David didn’t speak much about his family, but what he did say about his younger brother wasn’t too...flattering. It’s a good thing that Luke doesn’t have much faith in David’s judgement of character. “Though, I can’t say I really see the resemblance.” Luke looked Javier up and down, there was a faint smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.</p><p>“Well, hello.” Javier took Luke’s hand and they shared a firm shake. “Me neither, but it’s still nice to see his ugly mug again.” Javier joked, looking at his brother to see if it got a rise out of him</p><p>“Ha ha.” David took it in stride, and then faced Luke once more. “Luke, by the way, the group Javier came with has your girl.”</p><p>A quick flash of surprise over took Luke’s expression, then transformed into almost worried excitement. “Clementine? She’s here? Where?”</p><p>Javier saw Luke’s reaction and became instantly curious. How were they connected?</p><p>“She was rounded up with the rest of them in quarantine.” David said matter-of-fact.</p><p>Luke straightened out his posture and pulled his master keyring from his pocket. “I-I’ll gotta go get her out-”</p><p>“No, Luke. Remember what I said to you.” David spoke with a commanding tone, like Luke was still his inferior. “She can't make her own decisions and be free from the responsibilities and consequences of them. She’ll have to live with it, and so do you.”</p><p>Now Javier was <em>really</em> curious, but wouldn’t interrupt.</p><p>“Besides,” David continued. “We have a meeting in ten minutes at the church. You don’t have time, and I don’t think she’s in any mood to see you.”</p><p>“Alright, alright. I’ll see her later, then.” Luke’s shoulders slumped a little, and he puts the keys in the pockets. He needed to see her again, he had been waiting so long to…</p><p>“Good. Now I gotta go see my wife. Come on, Javi.” David started walking again and led Javier to the hospital. Once away from other members, he returned to more personal conversation with his brother. “Gabe says you made it back to the house when this all started. I’m sorry I never found you.” He looked down at the road in shame.</p><p>“We waited for you. For <em>three months.</em> Eventually the house was overrun and we had to move.” Javier explained. “Why didn’t you come back?”</p><p>“Mamá and I got routed out of the city on the way to the hospital. It wasn’t long before she…” David let that sentence drop, and Javi understood why. “I couldn’t get back into Baltimore, so I hooked up with my old unit. We thought we could build a safe zone outside DC. After what happened to Mamá, and everyone else...I thought you were all dead… But you were taking care of ‘em, were you? Somehow you found a way. Not gonna lie, I never thought you had it in you.” David smiled, feeling proud of his brother. He finally stepped up.</p><p>Javi nodded. “We took care of each other. We all had each other’s backs.”</p><p>“You changed, brother. It took the end of the world, but you grew up.” David patted his little brother’s shoulder to show his pride in him. David only had to lead him a little further for them to be at the steps of the hospital. “This is where they’re treating Kate. Don’t get comfortable, we’re not staying long.”</p><hr/><p>In the last year, so many things had changed that life seemed almost unrecognizable to Luke.</p><p>It had only been a little over a year since he lost Clementine, then not long after that he lost AJ… His two tethers, his two main reasons to go on anymore.</p><p>Luke <em>always</em> meant to go after her. To talk to her, to bring her back. Use his limited influence to do all he can to make the New Frontier take her back, or just run off with her if they wouldn’t. After the night she was banished, he went out to the bus Ava found her in, but she wasn’t there anymore. Anywhere he thought of, she was gone. </p><p>In any case, he was too distracted to manhunt for her. AJ needed to be kept comfortable, Luke needed to be there for <em>him.</em> His lil’ man… And it wasn’t soon after Clementine left that Joan and David made their moves on Richmond. In what felt like overnight and out of Luke’s control, the two other leaders secured their enclave in the city. They took over the small settlement already there and converted the near one thousand people there to the New Frontier.</p><p>At first, it felt like chaos. Truly, it was. Assuming command of the city was one thing, but harnessing that power was tricky. They relied on Luke to settle so many personal disputes as well as set up the greenhouses and gardens. </p><p>That didn’t stop the winter from tearing it down.</p><p>The winter was harsh on Richmond. They took over Richmond so late in the year that the greenhouses wouldn’t produce enough to sustain them, and they didn’t have the provisions they needed to keep afloat. People died, people starved, and it was hard. But the New Frontier prevailed, and they had to rebuild.</p><p>It was a lot of work, and Luke was still working to the bone every day, but his (and the rest of the council’s) attempts did succeed. Richmond was getting close to sustainability, and the people inside their gates lived in relative comfort, and Luke had a lot of goodwill among the people for his efforts.</p><p>And Luke, well. He used his authority to do something he knew he shouldn’t have. For Clementine, he stole. He took some provisions, food, or promises of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” and he would make under the table deals with other nearby settlements. He asked them to help Clementine when she needed it, and would get her out of whatever trouble she got herself in, and to tell him updates and where she was so he could hopefully get a chance to talk to her. He asked them to take her in, but she refused every offer. Any messages he left for her were ignored and she was impossible to track down. But Luke was trying, goddamnit, he was <em>trying</em> to fix things. But how was supposed to fix things if he couldn’t find her?</p><p>Now she was here. Clementine was locked away in the quarantine, just a few buildings nearby. Luke could see her, he could tell her <em>everything</em> and ask her to come back. Or, offer to go with her if she refused… Not yet. He just had to sit through this meeting, then he could see her. He had to wait.</p><p>The sound of the church doors opening made Luke turn his head from where he was seeing. The García brothers entered the old church, which now had been designated as the council’s headquarters. The grand crucifix had been taken down, replaced with the New Frontier symbol painted up high on the stained glass. The implications of which were too close for Luke’s comfort.</p><p>“It may look pretty, but it’s all sugars. There’s no substance.” Clint said to Joan over the nearby table. On the table were two dishes prepared by each respective member: a decadent chocolate cake versus a hardy plate of creamed spinach.</p><p>“It <em>tastes</em> pretty, Clint, that’s all that matters.” Joan argued in favor of her desert, then turning to see the new visitors. “Ah, the brother.”</p><p>“Javi, meet the guys.” David said to his brother. He gestures with his head to point out Luke sitting at the pew. “That’s Luke, you’ve already met him outside.”</p><p>“Howdy, again.” Luke gave over a little wave with his free hand before taking another sip of water from his cup. He played into his Tennessee accent as a light-hearted joke.</p><p>“Luke runs food production. The crops you saw? That’s him and his people. Clint is our engineer, he gets the gates and cars working, and has been doing some good work with getting running water and electricity. And Joan’s our bridge to the outside world.” Joan smiled as David explained their respective roles. “She handles contact with other settlements.”</p><p>“Pleased to meet you, Javi. I trust you’ve been treated well. I hope you haven’t been handled too roughly. Some of our people left their courtesy with their old lives.” Joan welcomed him.</p><p>“No complaints here. I get that you guys have a way of doing things.” Javier answered.</p><p>“Thank you. We <em>have</em> to be careful. I’m sure you can understand.” Joan smiled again warmly to the younger García brother.</p><p>Clint gave Javi a welcoming nod, before he chuckled and turned back to the food.</p><p>Joan gestures to the dishes, “We were just about to eat. Clint was trying to convince me,” the older woman puts her hands on her hips in almost jovial manor, “of the essential superiority of his creamed spinach over my magnificent Black Forest gateau.”</p><p>“It’s no contest. The spinach has real nutritional value.” Clint offered up his reasoning.</p><p>“Javi, take a look at that table. You tell me what you’d rather put in your belly.” Joan asked.</p><p>Javier looked over at each table, but with his mouth watering already at the sight of real, cooked food he couldn’t tell. It all looked so delicious. “Everything looks so good, I want it all.”</p><p>Joan laughed, “So politie, David. Sure he’s your brother?”</p><p>“I was sayin’ the same thing.” Luke looked over at Javier and grinned again, then taking another look at the dishes again. Luke couldn’t decide which one he would prefer either, but he had a hand in the creation of both of them. The spinach was from his garden, so were the eggs and milk. Though, the chocolate was too out of his climate and came from a box.</p><p>“Can’t trust a diplomat. Always saying one thing and thinking another.” Clint walked away, leaving Javier with a puzzled face thinking to himself what that meant.</p><p>“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Joan gestured for them all to sit at the pews turned to face each other. “We value straight talk here, so please, forgive me if I seem direct. We’re usually pretty strict about who we open our doors to. Your brother’s word counts for a lot.”</p><p>Javier crossed arms and leaned back into the wooden pew. He had chosen to sit between David and Luke across from Clint and Joan. “Is that so?”</p><p>“The four of us and Dr. Lingard make all the decisions here, so, yeah.” She said.</p><p>“People who chose to stay with us, they have to deal with us bossing them around. Not saying you wouldn’t, but it can be an adjustment. Especially for the more independent-minded.” Clint said, he shared a brief glance with Luke when he remembered what happened with Clementine.</p><p>Luke gave a slow, solid nod back to Clint. The man wasn’t lying, this place could be controlling and demanding. Sometimes, it felt like Howe’s all over again. At least this time there was no William Carver...</p><p>“No offense, but what qualifies <em>you</em> to lead?” Javi questioned.</p><p>Joan let out a light hearted chuckle. “Testing us already?”</p><p>“Just curious who’s leading the troops into battle,” Javier raised an eyebrow and glanced at his brother. David could tell Javier was getting too cocky.</p><p>“Everything you see we built ourselves. If that's not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.” Joan gestured around to the church, just a symbol of all the work they had done.</p><p>“When Joan and I met your brother, he was trying his hand at fruit.” Clint said.</p><p>“Fruit?” David shook his head in an amused manner.</p><p>“We found him slowly murdering an orchard on the Shenandoah River.” Clint told Javier.</p><p>“Hadi-fucking-ha.” David was being sarcastic, to that day he still thought Clint was over dramatic about the state of the orchard.</p><p>“I helped him bring it back to life.” The man said.</p><p>“We had a good run there,” Joan smiled, it was bittersweet.</p><p>“For as long as it lasted…” David looked off, the memories were painful.</p><p>“What happened?” Javier asked, he looked between David and the council members.</p><p>“What always happens.” David shrugged. “We trusted the wrong damn people.”</p><p>Luke bit his tongue. He wasn’t there at the orchard, and he heard relatively little about the New Frontier’s past. The other members were more focused on the future. However, his lack of history and close-knit personal relationships with the other council members made him the least influential and powerful among the fire. He was new, but he joined at an opportune time, and their people liked him. That was enough.</p><p>“That’s what led us to start this,” Davied pointed at the brand seared into his neck. “Wondering what this fine piece of bodywork was all about? It’s our litmus test for loyalty.”</p><p>Luke rubbed his neck, he felt the phantom burn creep back into its lines.</p><p>“I’ve seen that mark a few times.” Javier’s voice bordered on accusatory.</p><p>“You probably saw it at the gates. Right, Javi?” David prompted his brother, he didn’t want to rock the boat before he held the oars.</p><p>Joan spoke up to explain. “We all took it as a sign of commitment. It was a crude answer to a difficult problem, and it hasn’t <em>always</em> worked.” The older woman looked over to the youngest member of the council, remembering what happened to his friend. Oh, Clementine...if only that girl could have behaved. “Please understand, we had a terrible winter just after we moved here… We...we lost a great deal. Loved ones who left holes in our lives.”</p><p>The council members looked down in sad remembrance for those that they lost. Friends, comrades, <em>AJ…</em> Javier looked at their faces with compassion, he knew what that felt like.</p><p><em>”Protecting</em> my people from that kind of pain? <em>That’s</em> is me awake at night. It turned me into a perpetual night owl. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I never want them to have to experience loss like that again.” Joan spoke more emphatically.</p><p>“I know how you feel, seeing the people I care about suffer, it’s-” Javier’s face was held in sad sympathy, he knew that pain. David looked at him, and the guilt of his absence started to settle in. “It’s a terrible feeling. I just want to shield them from it all.” Javier remembered all those years in the van with the kids, all the sacrifices he and Kate made to shield and protect them. And now, Mariana was gone…</p><p>“It’s a noble aim, one worth fighting for.” Joan responded.</p><p>Before the topic could come to its natural conclusion, the church door opened with their ceremonious creaking and thud. In came Max and two of his crew. Javi tried to rise and face him, but David stood up faster and held his brother down by the shoulder. A cold feeling descended on Luke, he never trusted David’s soldiers and their presence brought anxiety.</p><p>“Max?” David was angry, and he had every reason to be. “What’re you doing here?”</p><p>“I sent for ‘em.” Clint answered in Max’s place.</p><p>“Since when does he answer to you?” David questioned.</p><p>“From what I hear, he’s well acquainted with your brother. They exchanged a few bullets outside our walls.” Clint crossed his arms, and David knew they were about to be in some shit.</p><p>Luke’s gaze jumped up in surprise. This was new information, he looked over at Javier with a new guarded, skeptical expression. “Wait, what?”</p><p>“Is that right?” Joan crossed one leg over the other. “Is there bad blood between you and Max?”</p><p>“Nothing that can’t be worked through.” David said. He wanted to avoid this confrontation until it was just him and Max alone.</p><p>“Let’s just say I wouldn’t invite him to my wedding.” Javi glared daggers over at Max.</p><p>“And I wouldn’t fuckin’ go.” David’s inferior said.</p><p>“Good. Because I just said you weren’t invited.” Javier furrowed his brows. His words were childish, but the rage behind them wasn’t.</p><p>“Max, how did this start?” Joan asked.</p><p>Max looked at David for some sort of instruction, an old habit. David was used to getting his men out of scrapes even before the apocalypse.</p><p>“Don’t look at him. You have an obligation to tell the truth.” Clint said.</p><p>Max walked across the room and leaned his backside and hands onto a backwards pew. “We caught him siphoning gas from one of our vehicles.” He admitted.</p><p>“Max-” David sternly addressed him.</p><p>“Sorry, David. I know he’s family, but your brother’s a thief.”</p><p>“Is it true?” Joan asked.</p><p>“Did you steal gas from us?” Clint joined in to confirm.</p><p>“I was scavenging whatever I could find. I had no idea it belonged to you.” Javier explained himself.</p><p>“If you just asked, we woulda given it to you.” Max shrugged, but his current casualty did not reflect the violence and hostility he met Javier with that night.</p><p>There was a tense pause between them all. Javier looked at David for some sort of back up, but David just shook his head.</p><p>“That-that’s not all.” Max stood back up and held his hands out to gain their attention. “He shot Rufus. In the <em>back.”</em></p><p>“You did what?” David looked at his brother with some shock and anger.</p><p>“Goddamn.” Luke set his glass down and massaged his temple. He let out an exhausted sigh. Problems. There’s always problems. Usually just little fires to put out, but now fireworks were going off today.</p><p>“We found the body near the wreck of Rufus’s truck.” Max explained.</p><p>Javier raised his voice, “You cold-cocked me with your pistol! I woke up in a truck with <em>cable-ties</em> on my wrists.”</p><p>“That don’t make it right! Rufus was bringin’ you here! We wasn’t gonna hurt you!” Max was lying, but it seemed convincing enough to the other council members.</p><p>Clinton stood up. “This is who you’re asking us to vouch for, David? Seriously? You know we can’t just open our doors to killers. “</p><p>“Everything I did out there, I did to protect my people. That’s more than I can say for <em>you.”</em> Javier justified himself, but his words seemed to be accusing the New Frontier of something…</p><p>“I’m not sure what you mean.” Joan crossed her arms, she was guarded.</p><p>David looked at his brother, and said his name as a warning. “Javi-”</p><p>“Do you have something to say?” Joan asked.</p><p>Javi stood up in conviction. “One of your people - some asshole called ‘Badger’ - he put a bullet in a little girl. My niece! David’s daughter!”</p><p>“What!” Max yelled.</p><p>“Holy shit.” Luke’s attention was picked back up, he was alarmed and shocked. Mariana? David’s kid?</p><p>“Damnit, Javi - I told you I’d handle it!” David faced his brother.</p><p>“No, David! This cousin-fucking dirtbag hass the balls to accuse <em>me?</em> He and Badger destroyed an entire town!” Javier continued.</p><p>“That’s enough!” David pulled Javi back into his seat.</p><p>“No, we need to hear this.” Clint said.</p><p>“Yes we do.” Luke asserted, he looked at Javi with surprise and implored him to continue. <em>“Please</em> go on.” Luke had known something was off. Ever since they came to Richmond he had a feeling something really wrong was going on underneath the surface.”</p><p>“Come on, Javi, tell us more you need to get off your chest.” Joan prompted him.</p><p>“They overran Prescott with walkers, ran them in on trucks.” Javier continued.</p><p>“Badger did that. Not me.” Max defended himself.</p><p>“You were right there next to him!” Javi yelled.</p><p>“I tried to get him to stop, I swear!” Another believable lie.</p><p>“David, we <em>warned</em> you about getting your soldiers in line.” Joan pressed David.</p><p>“We don’t know all the facts.” David said.</p><p>“We know <em>enough.”</em> Joan furrowed her brows.</p><p>“She’s right, David, you’ve lost control.” Clint joined her side.</p><p>“I want them gone! All of them!” Joan raised her voice, but she wasn’t shouting. She was commanding. “Take Javi and everyone in the quarantine to the gate. Send them out with enough weapons to defend themselves, but no more.”</p><p>“Wait-” Luke said, but he was cut off by the guards coming forward to take them. A female guard shared a glance with Joan before they nodded to one another, confirming Javier’s imminent removal. Fuck! Luke still needs to talk to Clementine or she’s going to slip away from him again. Now he knew, no matter what, he had to follow. He <em>had</em> to see her again. </p><p>David came close to his brother and talked in a voice low enough for just him to hear. “Look, we can’t fight this. Not now. Kate and Gabe will be safe here. Your doctor friend too. But the rest of you, you’re gonna have to do what they say. I’m sorry, it’s out of my hands.”</p><p>“I can’t leave Kate and Gabe alone.” Javier insisted.</p><p>“They won’t be alone, I’ll be here to take care of them. I can’t help you now, but maybe I can down the road,” David reassured his brother as the guards began to escort Javi out of the building. “Just stay alive, okay?”</p><p>With guards following closely behind with their guns to his back, Javier was led out of the church. Luke and David shared a look at each other, and they both knew they had to move fast to help those they loved.</p><hr/><p>The imposing gates of Richmond screeched open and the group was exiled out at gunpoint. Clementine, Tripp, Jesus, and Javier were ushered out without unjust force, but one guard pressed his rifle into Conrad’s back for lagging behind.</p><p>“Ah, what the fuck. We didn’t do anything!” Conrad protested, he walked faster to avoid the barrel of the rifle.</p><p>“I might do somethin’ here in a minute.” Tripp threatened in response.</p><p>The group was rounded up now outside the gate. Exiled, they turned back and looked at the guards in disdain, even though they still held them all at gunpoint. Between the guards, Ava approached, she strode in hastily and dropped a duffle bag onto the ground in front of them. She seemed pissed. Behind her, Luke was following. He was still close to the gate and wore a backpack. He waited and looked around for Clementine, but the girl avoided looking at him.</p><p>“David packed this.” Ava said.</p><p>“He did?” Javier asked. “They said-”</p><p>“Start walking.” Ava commanded, she turned around back to gates. The rest of the group all look at one another with confusion. She didn’t get far before Tripp approached her, making her turn back around.</p><p>“What about Eleanor?” Tripp asked.</p><p>Ava turned around and pushed Tripp backwards. “Walk!”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa-” Luke came forward with his hands up. To try to calm this down he put one hand on Ava’s shoulder, but Ava shrugged him off.</p><p>“Eat shit.” Tripp snapped, Javier came forward and pushed him back as well to avoid a fight. “Answer my fuckin’ question.”  Tripp started to struggle against Javier. “Goddamn it Javi! Let go of me-”</p><p>“This isn’t her fault, Tripp. You’re mad at the wrong person.” Javier said, but was then pushed aside by Tripp.</p><p>The large man approached Ava, but Ava laid a hand on him first. She took a tight fist and decked Tripp so hard he was knocked flat on his back. The group stood still in shock.</p><p>“Do <em>not</em> fuck this up.” Ava angry-whispered. She and Javi shared a tense stare before she turned around and walked back to the gate. “There’s a settlement a few miles west from here, Luke offered to take you. Don’t come back.”</p><p>The gate shut, and the group was now stranded and banished with no recourse. Javi looked at the guard at the top of the gate, staring him down for a moment before he turned around and offered a hand to help Tripp up. However, Tripp batted his hand away and got up on his own.</p><p>“Did you piss in someone’s oatmeal back there?” Tripp dusted the dirt off of himself before crossing his arms. “Thought you were gonna ‘play along.’” He looked at Luke suspiciously, his blue eyes lingering on the mark burned into the New Frontier member’s neck. </p><p>“Everything was going okay, at first… I don’t know what happened back there.” Javier said.</p><p>“Yeah, well. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s about to happen out here.” Tripp was a pessimist, after six years of hell how could he not be?</p><p>“Let’s just all see what David gave y’all.” Luke spoke.</p><p>Javier nodded, then crouched down to zip open the back.</p><p>“Knowin’ them it’s probably a butter knife and a stick of gum.” Tripp said to Javier, though his eyes were glared at Luke.</p><p>“They coulda just shot us.” Jesus reasoned.</p><p>“More than once.” Javier agreed with the ruffian.</p><p>“Oh, how fuckin’ <em>neighborly.”</em> Tripp rolled his eyes.</p><p>Javi zipped open the bag, and the first thing he pulled out was his metal bat with a map tied to it.</p><p>“What’s that?” Tripp questioned.</p><p>Javier stood up. “It looks like a map. I doubt they give one to everyone.”</p><p>“A map?” Luke came closer to take a look.</p><p>“Ava did say David packed the bag.” Javier shrugged.</p><p>“Why the hell is it tied to a baseball bat?”</p><p>Javier tapped the bat into his other hand, an old habit. “David’s sense of humor always was poorly timed.”He untied the map and opened it up. On it showed a blue line leading to a red X. That must be a safe place. “Looks like they’re expanding,” Javier pointed out the blocked out territories marked with yellow checkmarks. “Some of these areas are marked ‘clear.’”</p><p>“Yeah, we’re tryin’ to secure some pastures…” Luke confirmed. They were planning to trade livestock with other settlements, which meant first securing enough on their own. “This don’t lead to the settlement I’m meant to take y’all.” Luke drew his eyebrows together.</p><p>Javier pointed out the X. “Pretty sure David wants us to go there.”</p><p>Tripp studied the map from over Javi’s shoulder. “We don’t even know where the hell we are on this thing.”</p><p>Javier pointed at the part of the map labeled “gate” and handed a deadpan look to Tripp. “There’s Richmond, that’s where we are. And <em>that’s,”</em> Javi gestured off towards the road with his head, “where we need to go. Just gotta head North.” He folded up the map into his hands. “And to find North…”</p><p>“We need to find the North Star.” Jesus said, looking up at the sky now dwindling out of light.</p><p>Javi looked up at the constellations and quickly found it. There were many nights that they stargazed in the van...it was one of Mari’s favorite things to do. “That’s it.” He pointed toward the road. “We need to go this way.” He looked over at Tripp kneeling by the duffle bag. “What else is in there?”</p><p>Tripp shook his head. “Not a whole lot. Flashlight, not enough weapons,” Jesus knelt down as well and took a look. “Not enough food.” </p><p>Luke squeezed the strap of his backpack, the same way he did for his machete back then. God, he missed that thing. Took lurkers out like no other. “I’ve got some extra bullets and food, if we’ll need it.”</p><p>The rest of the group sorted out what remained. Jesus knelt down and inspected a hatchet from the bag, Clementine gets down and picks up a knife <em>and</em> a gun. Tripp’s gun. Tripp looks at her disapprovingly, taking two is an asshole move.</p><p>Clementine, rolling her eyes, snipped in such a teenager fashion. “Deal with it.”</p><p>Tripp furrowed his brows at the little brat, then picked up another gun.</p><p>Luke recognized the caliber of her gun, and quickly opened his bag to pull out his extra magazine. “Clem, here.” He held out the full magazine to her in an attempt to finally reach out. “It’s...it’s good to see you again.” He offered a familiar, wary smile to his friend.</p><p>Unfortunately, he was rebuffed. Clementine took a look at the magazine, but instead turned around and walked away from the group, refusing to acknowledge Luke.</p><p>Luke, feeling utterly rejected, simply put the magazine in his back pocket. Fuck...he’ll get through to her. He had to.</p><p>Javier noticed that interaction, now feeling even more curious about the nature of their relationship than he was before. Maybe he’ll ask, later. For now, looked down at the weapons left to protect himself with. There was a gun, knife, and flashlight left. He picked up the flashlight and gun, it’s Conrad’s, the one he pulled on Gabe. He and the bald man share a look.</p><p>Conrad’s eyebrows parted in regret. “Take it. Please...take it. Call it an apology.” He put hands on hips and looked to the ground on his left. “That man back there in the tunnel? That wasn’t me. Take the gun.”</p><p>Tripp tried to reason with his friend. “Conrad, don’t let the past get in the way of common sense! Give him the gun, Javi.”</p><p>Conrad shrugged half-heartedly. “I can find something along the way. Always have.”</p><p>Tripp disapproved, “I don’t like it.”</p><p>“Here.” Javier held the gun out to him, a show of forgiveness. They had enough on their plate to worry about. “The gun is yours, Conrad. I can take care of myself.”</p><p>Conrad, though he felt undeserving, tucked his gun into the band of his jeans. “Thank you.”</p><p>Tripp took the remaining knife from the ground, the last weapon. “Nobody fires a single shot unless you are deep-fucking-fried. You hear me? We don’t want to attract <em>whatever</em> the hell is out there.”</p><p>With Tripp’s final word of advice, weapons in hand, and the map leading the way, the group begins their walk down the road into the night. Behind them laid the empty duffle bag, marking the threshold of their banishment.</p><hr/><p>They’ve been walking for hours. The night surrounding them became darker and darker, though the moon showed their way. In the silver light around them mist began to form, making it harder to see the path, and what may be waiting for them on it. The young girl in their group, though the smallest among them, took the front lead. She walked ahead of everyone else, her arms crossed. Whether it was bravery or stubbornness that made her take the front was unclear, but there were signs it was more of the latter. Several times throughout their trek, Luke had tried to catch up or walk with her, but each time she ignored him and went further. Now the man was lagging behind the rest of the group, watching her with an almost pained expression thinking of what to say. All the things he had thought of before seemed not enough... </p><p>Javier noticed this distance between them, and came to Luke’s side. Perhaps now he could get answers for what had been pulling at his curiosity. “Teenagers, right?” He tried to break the ice with the councilmen.</p><p>Luke let out a light chuckle. “Yup. They’re young but their attitude gets old <em>fast.”<em></em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Tell me about it. My nephew, Gabriel, is about her age. He’s getting to be kind of a pain in the ass.” Javier said casually. After a pause between them, he felt like he could finally ask. “Is Clementine your niece or...something?”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“She’s, uh… she’s someone I care a lot about.” Luke looked up at Javier. In the dark, he could still make eye contact. “She’s like a little sister to me, but...I dunno. I haven’t seen her in a while and...I know she blames me for some stuff that went down.” Luke paused, his gaze went back to the girl ahead of them. As much as she was acting like he was dead to her, Luke knew that wasn’t true. She was still wearing his red flannel tied around her waist. “I need to talk to her, but she won’t listen, or let me get near.”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“Well. It can’t be that bad, can it? You could work it out.” Javier raised his shoulders in questioning reassurance.</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Luke lets out a deep sigh, then rubs the back of his neck in guilt. He avoided the question, because honestly he didn’t know. Not at this rate. “She feels like I betrayed her and- Well. I guess I did.” Needing something to occupy his hands, Luke took the hair tie from his wrist and started to tie up his hair. As he pulled the shoulder blade length hair back into a bun, his brand was revealed. Noticing Javier look at it prompted Luke to speak more. “She used to be New Frontier, you know that, right?”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Javier nodded, and chose not to mention that when she trusted him with that information he soon after planned with Conrad to turn her in for their own benefit. Well, the man was holding a gun to Gabriel’s head.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Me and her knew each other long before then, but we joined when things got rough and we didn’t have much other choice. But shit went down with us and them and I...I stayed, and she got kicked out.” Regret was written across Luke’s face. “This happened a year ago, I ain’t seen her since. She just keeps avoiding me, ignoring my messages,” Now the regret was tinged with frustration. “I just, just wanna tell her something important, you know? Get ‘er to come back.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What do you need to tell her?” Javi asked.</em>
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    <em>Luke looked at Javi, considering if he should say it. Javi seems trustworthy, but this also isn’t his problem. He was David’s brother, and he shot Rufus. What good would telling him before Clementine do? “It’s a long story, you have enough on your plate with this whole mess already. This is between me and her.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Alright, I get that. But you should probably talk to her soon.” Javier looked over at the girl. “She’s been trying to get a vehicle, I think she wants to get far away from Richmond.”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Luke looked slightly shocked, but mostly worried. Would she really do that? Leave without saying goodbye? “Well. I’ll have to spit it out soon, then.” He gave a tight shrug with crossed arms.</em>
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    <em>Off to the left, Jesus raised a hand to get the group’s attention. He looked around cautiously, listening for something. The entire group stopped for him.</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“Jesus’s got his eye on something.” Tripp said. He watched Jesus walk off the path and standed over the edge of a cliff just off of it. “Whaddya got for us man?”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“Listen.” Jesus said.</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>They do, and all can hear a herd.</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“Ah, hell…” Luke shook his head. He knew of this herd, David’s scouts said it was heading west before. Herds weren’t pleasant to say the least, and out here they had no shelter to wait it out.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Tell me that isn’t what I think it is.” Javier said in rhetorical disbelief. How can this night get worse?</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Jesus listened closely, “About a quarter mile out, heading the same way we are.”</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Tripp looked at his surroundings, as if one was standing just behind a bush. “We could hit walkers any second, we better scoot.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>All pull their weapons out and keep walking. Javier took lead, usurping Clementine and walking in front of them all. Clementine fell back and listened, she heard some nearby.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine whispered loudly to get all their attention. “Walkers! Get ready. They’re near.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The group cautiously pushed forward, and in a short moment the dead appeared through the fog. Just a few yards up the road was a small pack.</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>“Okay, look alive.” Javier gripped onto his bat harder.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I got it.” Jesus cocked a confident smile over to Javier before he threw his hatchet right into a walker’s face. In a fluid set of motions, he ran over and pulled it out, then bashed the next one in with the axe before turning around and decapitating the next. He gives Javier another cocky glance, then running over to the next.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier reeled up his bat and walked over to a <em>muerto,</em> he hit it on the left until it fell to the ground and Jesus stomped its head in. Javier used his bat to pin the next one up a tree, and hit it with his body so hard it crumbled down. “Batter up, fuckface!” Javier then bashed it’s head against the tree. And for a moment, it’s <em>cathartic.</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on, man, move your ass.” Tripp called out to Javi, the rest of the group was already running down the path now that the walkers were cleared enough.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi, feeling the need to take out more of his anger and frustration and indulge his self-destruction, chose to linger behind. He set his sight on another rotted creature and gripped his bat. “Wanna piece of this?!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>He kicked it to the ground and tried to bash head in, something that should be so routine to him. Unfortunately, he broke the first rule he and Kate set. <em>Don’t fight them alone.</em> Another came in from the side before he got the chance, and he used his baseball bat to instead hold it away from him. The <em>muerto</em> turned the tables and managed to pin him against the tree, as it did the other one rose from the ground.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier, using his strength, got out from under its hold and hit it hard over the head, but once it crumpled to the ground the other got to him and took Javier down. Javi struggled to hold it back, he looked for his weapon but the bat was not there. Panic set in, but before he could face the walker above him he heard a thud, and felt the weight and stench of the corpse fall on him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine killed it. She has his bat, and was bashing in their heads in an alternating pattern, she grunted with the force she exerted. Once they were truly down, Clementine walked over to an open-jawed Javier. “You should be more careful with this.” She smirked and held out the bat for him, a proud taunt.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier, still a bit dumbfounded but mostly impressed, took the bat and then Clementine’s hand to get up.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine, once again speaking with the nonchalant annoyance of a teen, walked away with a message to Javi. “We’re even now.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier, not really knowing what to say, followed behind her. “Sure.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>They walked side-by-side back on the path to catch up with their group. Clementine sighed, annoyed again. “This is a <em>bad</em> idea.” She furrowed her brows at Javi. “We’re following David’s map right into a herd. For all we know, he’s trying to get rid of us.”  (cleary thinks very lowly of David)</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on, Clem.” Despite Javier’s disagreements with his brother, he thought Clementine’s clearly very low opinion of him wasn’t totally warranted. Perhaps exaggerated. “He’s my brother.“</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You <em>can’t</em> trust him, Javi.” She stopped walking, and her arms crossed sadly. “I learned that the hard way.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>All the men slowed down and stopped, they turned around to listen. Tripp and Jesus wanted to know what they were up against, but Luke already knew. He just wanted to hear her side…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I never wanted to need people again…” Clementine pulled up her sleeve to reveal the brand. “But we had nothing, and nowhere else to go.” She finally, for just a brief moment, acknowledged Luke with a glance, but it quickly went cold.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Clem-” Luke said softly, he held out a hand to reach out to her, but the girl turned away.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“The New Frontier gave me this and made me one of them. They <em>promised</em> they’d help him. That turned out to be a lie…”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier took a short, confused glance over at Luke. Who is the “him” Clementine was talking about?</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“They did all they could to save him Clementine-” Luke said before being cut off.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clem snapped, now more emotional and firey than she had let herself be around these strangers in a while. “Bullshit! <em>I</em> did. I stole the medicine for him! You did jack shit, Luke. You just waited around for AJ to die, and then you <em>stayed</em> with <em>them.</em> David and the rest of those fucking <em>bastards</em> who threw me out and wanted to leave him to die.” She was yelling, her tone scathing in its disappointed tone. And her accusations can’t help but bring up memories of Carver…was Luke repeating his past?</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Clementine, that’s not true. I did right by our boy, I stayed and made him comfortable. I was <em>there</em> in his suffering. The medicine didn’t help.” The man seemed to be getting emotional as well. Because he took a breath to calm down, he doesn’t get a chance to say what he’s been waiting to. He still missed the right moment.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine huffed and turned around, she didn’t want to hear his excuses. The girl took a few steps away to collect herself. After a pause, she spoke again in a distraught voice. “I thought AJ would be the <em>one.”</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Another pause. Javi broke it, his voice ever so gentle, he wanted to console her. “The one what?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“The one who didn’t betray me. The one who didn’t <em>die.”</em> While none could see her face, they knew it was sad. She was vulnerable in a way she hadn’t let anyone see her in so long…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier knew it, and he met her fragility with compassion. The man walked forward and put a hand on Clementine’s shoulder. The girl looks at him, her arms still crossed, and her eyes flashed with a little fear, but also relief. This is the first time someone has tried to comfort her in a long time, in the last year she’s put up a lot of walls to reject others. And wordlessly, he pulled her into a hug.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“My little goofball…” Her eyes were squeezed shut. After a moment in another’s arms, she pulled away and took some steps forward down the road. She wouldn’t let herself be comforted more than that. “He was the only family I had left.” </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke felt a sharp pain in his chest at hearing that.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine doesn’t stick around, the girl turned right and walked further down their path. The men all look at each other, kind of accepting what just happened. She was a kid, and she had been through a lot. More than she would say, but she showed it in her actions and her hostilities.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>In a similar way to Clementine, Javier put a hand on Luke's shoulder to comfort him. What they had gone through was together, but they had to keep their grief apart. Family, something so essential to Javier, had been ripped from them. Luke nodded to Javier to show he was okay, and picked his hand off before walking forward. In just a few more minutes, the warehouse came into view.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“This is what David circled on the map.” Javier said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I think this is a warehouse that his scouts use. I’ve only been here once, though.” Luke added, the building did look familiar.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Our smelly friends are back.” Tripp pointed out the walkers swarming the building.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The group  readied themselves to fight the swarm, their weapons in hand and stances lowered. Clementine charged first, but one came at her too quickly, and Javier rushed forward and got it. She kept running forward and sliced one on the leg, causing it to stumble and fall. An old trick of hers, but Javier then kills it then too. They got through the chain link door first, and the others dashed forwards not seconds after. Jesus axed another walker on the way there. Once everyone gots in the fence Javier pulled it shut. It was rusted and years old, at moments it was stuck by its rust. There’s no way to lock the fence and they instantly realize it’s rickety and not going to hold, so they all flocked to the fence and held their bodies up to keep it from caving in.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“If too many push against the fence it’s gonna give.” Luke said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Gotta find a way in,” Javier said, he looked over at Luke so that he would come with. He’d been here before, he might know. The two came closer to the building and searched, there was a garage door and a locked standard entrance.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Garage door...we might be able to get in that way.” Luke said, he knew he didn’t have keys to this building.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine yelled over her shoulder, “Could be full of walkers.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp looked back from the fence that he was holding up with his large body, “Only one way to know for sure.” One walker lunged and pushed on Tripp while he was caught off guard. “Whoa, man- This gate ain’t as strong as we thought, hurry it up!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier and Luke tried lifting the gate, but could only open it a foot even with both of their strength. The noise from the screeching metal attracted more walkers, to add on top.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Here they come.” Jesus said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We can raise it a little, but- something’s wrong with it! Jammed or some shit.” Javier felt the stress rise even more.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Maybe we can force it open.” Clem suggested, still forcing her small frame to support the fence.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re gonna have to.” Luke agreed.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>They start looking around for something else, any ideas. Luke spots the abandoned car and  nudges Javier to look. Both saw the trolley jack under one of the wheels, and once they came closer they found the handle in the car. To their inconvenience, it was guarded by a walker. They both looked at each other and grimaced. From behind them, they heard more walkers pounding and rattling the chain link, and Tripp yelling to them “Pick up the pace!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi took out his bat and steeled himself, Luke pulled his gun just in case. Weapons in hand, Luke opened the car door. Javi made efficient work of bashing the walker’s head in once it fell out onto the ground. Luke reached into the car and pulled out the lever, and after getting it attached Javier dragged it to the garage door. Luke pushed it under and Javi began to crank, all while the others yelled for them to hurry up.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>A walker managed to climb the fence, but didn’t make it over before Jesus sliced its head off. “It’s not holding!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Get that door open!” Tripp strained.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier cranked it open a foot and a half more before the jack wouldn’t budge. “That’s it! It won’t go any higher! Everyone get in!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>All ran and rolled under the door, the fence collapsed just seconds without their weight. First in was Clementine, Luke after once he’s sure she’s in. Jesus sliced another walker’s head off before he slid under.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp ran forward, “Javi, go!” He urged the younger man to go in as soon as he could, and Javi listened and rolled under. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Motherfucker!” Conrad had to shoot one last walker on his way in.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on, Tripp!” Javier yelled, the Prescott leader was the last left.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp, with only seconds to spare, slid under with a grunt.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Close the door!” Clementine yelled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Hurry!” Tripp jumped to his feet. “Get that goddamn jack outta there!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi got down closer to it, then kicked it out from under the garage door before a crawler could get in. The garage door screeched down and hit the concrete with a “bang!” After that, there is a moment of quiet, a moment filled with sighs of relief. Javier laid himself flat on the concrete, he put his hands over his eyes and took a second to calm down and feel the cold ground beneath him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Luke’s hand offering to help him up. Javier took it.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Damn, man! That was too close.” Tripp hooted in relief.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You can say that again.” Conrad joined.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>All looked tensely at the door, they may be safe for now but they still heard the zombies banging outside, against just one thin door. Clementine pulled her gun out for comfort. Just as they thought it was over, they heard a knock on a side door.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Hey! I’m here!” The knocker said. It was David.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier perked up and took some fast steps to the door. “David!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Don’t you dare let that fucking babykiller in!” Clementine aimed her gun at Javi, and without warning shot at the door. Javi ducked down with his hands over his head before turning around and looking at her with wide-eyed shock. She still has the gun on him, and the rest all have eyes on her. “Don’t make me do this.” She scowled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Clementine! What the hell-” Luke was cut off.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Clem-” Tripp tried to approach her from her left with hands up.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Don’t do it, Javi!” She yelled, her aim was steady but the grip on her gun too tight.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Hey! Open up!” David banged on the door again.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier looked between the door and Clem. He couldn’t well open it with Clementine ready to kill him for doing so.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He’ll die.” Jesus said. A fact, an appeal to her empathy.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He deserves worse!” She insisted.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He has a son, Clem.” Javier’s hands are out, he wanted to show he was non-threatening, his face had a disappointed look. “Just like you did.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>In the second she was distracted, Jesus swiftly disarmed Clem and pushed her aside to knock her off her balance. It wasn’t usual for him to assault a child, but she was far from usual herself.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Ah! The fuck-” Clementine glared at Jesus.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Open it.” The man said to Javier.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi opened the door, allowing David to burst in and slam the door behind him. Still facing the door, he catches a moment to pants with his hands on his knees. He then rose up and turned to look at everyone, see who still made it through that swarm. The face of Clementine is boring holes into his head, but the rest all look rather pissed off at him as well.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Hello again.” He looked directly at Clem, voice serious in a tone and reserved for her. “Clementine.” His tone becomes more tanting, almost amused the girl manages to get herself caught up in shit too big for her britches. “How did you get caught up in this?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Ask your brother.” She responded.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David clicked tongue. “He’s trouble,” David shakes his head until he slipped a sly look to Javier. “Trust me.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“She’s with me.” Javier felt the need to defend the girl. “I owe her my life.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine looked a little pleased at hearing that.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp came forward with his hands on hips, taking an assertive step towards David. “She told us some pretty rancid stuff about you, man.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What did she say?” David asked to know.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“That you left her to die.” Javier said, in a turn of events it was the youngest García disappointed in the older.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David shook his head kurtly. “No,” He gestured to Luke, though the other councilman shook his head to distance himself. “We kicked her out.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier felt disgusted and saddened by his brother. “A little girl, all alone out there. You think Mariana could’ve survived that?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David’s face pulled a small cringe, but he masked it. He took a glance to the side before looking straight at Javi to defend himself. “We have rules. Clem broke ‘em.” He looked directly at the young girl crossing her arms at him. “I would’ve done the same to <em>anybody.</em> She knew what would happen. Don’t feel sorry for her. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“To anybody, huh?” Javier’s voice was slowly rising, “You broke the rules for Kate and Gabe!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“And I’ll accept the consequences. Unlike her,” He gestured to Clem again.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>After a tense pause, Clementine slowly uncrossed her arms. In a voice low and sad, she asked something she was desperate to know. For the second time that night, she seemed vulnerable. “Did he suffer? Until the end?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David didn’t answer.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Please...I have to know.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David, in a small bid of confusion, looked over to Luke and crossed his arms. “You haven’t told her yet. Have you.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine looked cautiously, almost suspiciously at Luke. “What is he talking about.” She seemed confused, defensive.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke sighed, his hand fell down from the back of his neck. Finally, he could tell her what he had needed to say all this night, all this <em>year.</em> Then why, now, was there a lump in his throat? He swallowed, and collected himself as he slowly came to her face-to-face, and he ignored the confused faces of everyone else around them. “Clementine,  AJ...AJ <em>lived.”</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>In just a blank moment, Clementine is shot through several stages of reverse grief. “What? No that...that can’t be.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“AJ bounced back.” David confirmed. “He was stronger than we thought.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke put a hand on her shoulder, finally this floodgate could break. “He was sick for a long, long time, but...he got better. It was a miracle, Clem.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine hit denial, she wasn’t believing it. She didn’t know how to take good news. “Where? Where is AJ now?” It hit her that Luke would have likely left him back at Richmond, in the arms of a New Frontier member. “I want to see him. <em>Now.”</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You can’t…” Luke sighed, there is pain written in his brown eyes.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine started getting angry, she was so desperate it was turning into it. “Why not!?” She stepped back to move his hand off of her.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I don’t have him anymore…” The guilt was palpable in his words, he avoided eye contact in that moment.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What does that mean?” She’s still so confused and angry.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke took another deep sigh. He needed to explain himself, and he gestured with his hands to show his guilt. “AJ got better, but he was never really <em>good,</em> Clem. He got sick <em>all</em> the <em>time,</em> and after he got better from that he was still a mess. And after you were gone, it was just...too much. I couldn’t take care of him. Then last winter came and- we had nothing to eat. I...I had to give him up.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Like she had reversed her grief, Clementine felt the betrayal again. Luke <em>giving up</em> on him up might have been worse than losing him. “You gave him up?” Her voice was shaking and scathing.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Lingard told me about this place...it’s a ranch out in Kentucky, a settlement for kids. It was a place where people could put them ‘til they got old enough to survive, a place where they would be taken care of and <em>safe.”</em> Luke pulled the hair on the side of his head for just a moment. “Joan and Lingard convinced me it was for the best...just for now.” He looked her in the eyes again, hoping she could see how much this hurt him too. “I-I couldn’t take care of him without you, Clementine.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine seemed on the verge of tears, whether of relief or betrayal was unsure. “So you just got rid of him? You stayed in Richmond without him and without me?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke was taken aback. “God- no! That’s not it.” He got down on a knee and put his hands on her shoulders once again, but she’s no longer at eye level anymore. She’s grown without him, she’s taller than she used to be, and now she’s looking down at him. “I stayed in Richmond to try to build a life for you two, build a <em>home.</em> Somewhere with gates and food and a roof over our head, somewhere he can crawl around and where you don’t have to hold a gun every second of the day or fight bandits for a meal. It’s not perfect, it’s far from it, but I’m tryin’ my fucking <em>best.</em> I just needed some time and I needed <em>you.</em> There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think of ridin’ down and bringing AJ back, but I couldn’t do it until you came back.” He swallowed again, and his voice became fragile. “Why’d you keep running away from me?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tears, against her will, slipped down her face. Still unsure how to handle this emotionally, she still borders on shaken and angry, but hurt and guilt brew within her too. “I-I...fuck.” Clem held her face in her hands for a second, enough time to build resolve. Let’s get him. I need to get him back.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke nodded, flyway locks of hair fell in his face, and he felt a spot of happiness for the first time in a long time. They would all be together again soon. <em>“Yes.</em> Once this is all over, you and me will get our boy back. We’ll be a <em>family</em> again, Clementine.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine looked close to melting, her face close to scrunched up and so much was in her hazel eyes. <em>“Luke-”</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Both pulled each other into a hug, holding each other once again for the first time in years. The rest of the group watched, they were partly feeling awkward at this intimate scene unfolding in front of them, but partly happy to see them make up. Javier felt hopeful. If Luke and Clementine could repair their relationship, perhaps he could fix his with David…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clementine and Luke break off their hug, after discreetly wiping their faces they stand next to each other. She seemed actually happy and he seemed relieved, though both were embarrassed once they saw everyone else had their eyes on them. Clementine crossed her arms and squinted back, while he held the back of his neck in embarrassment.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>For a moment he and Javier made eye contact for a second and they shared a little smile, then Javier turned to speak to his brother. “What’s your plan, David?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We store a vehicle up this way. Provisions. I came to get you set up.” David said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“And?” Javier asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“And say goodbye.” David took a step forward, he had a thankful expression. “I don’t want you to worry about Kate and Gabe. I’ll take care of my family from now on.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wait- This is a send-off?” Javier asked in confusion and disbelief, which quickly bubbled over into anger. “You’re just seeing me on my merry way?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You think I want this?” David was confidently defensive.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Well you’re not doing much to stop it!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I don’t see another way.” David crossed his arms.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Before they could finish their argument, the door burst open again and two walkers screamed  to announce themselves.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Shit!” Tripp was spooked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Board it up!” Jesus charged in immediately to deal with the problem. He seemed collected, always well adapted to his surroundings.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp flying-kicked a walker in the face to push it outside, then slammed the door and put his back to it to hold it close. Jesus helped him keep it shut.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp shouted to Javi. “We need something to buffer! Something’ heavy.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi whipped his head around, he set his sights on the shipping crates. “There!” He ran behind to push it forward. “Help me!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Both brothers pushed from the back while Clementine and Luke pulled from its sides. It scraped against the concrete until it banged against the door. The danger is over, at least for now. It’s then that they stepped away and Tripp took a look at the shipment. He recognized the markings.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wait a half second…” Tripp’s voice was unusually quiet rather than booming. He was piecing something together, and looked back at Javier. “Where’d you find this?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Over there,” Javi gestured his head from where he and David pushed it over from.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Show me.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier turned on his flashlight and pointed its beam on the crates in the dark, revealing more and more crates and shipping containers of supplies. Some of which marked “Property of Prescott Airfield.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What the hell is all this?” David said, he seemed genuinely confused. He had never seen it before.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Jesus found some walkie talkies among the piles. “These should come in handy. Don’t wanna just take ‘em, but…” He shrugged.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I might be going crazy, but- I think these came from Prescott.&gt; Tripp looked off to the side and saw a familiar old-fashioned arcade game. “That’s Phantom Punch!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David was still looking at all the crates. “I don’t understand how all this got here.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp’s voice went low with accusations and simmering rage. “Like you don’t know.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David got defensive. “Hey! None of this stuff was here before. I don’t have a damn thing to do with it!” He looked over at Luke, thinking maybe he had something to do with it.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wasn’t me, I have no idea what this is.” Luke said. He was in charge of food production, not supplies.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We only ever kept a few basic supplies here for scouts.” David said. “For emergencies.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Your people looted this stuff from Prescott, David.” Javi said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on, we <em>can’t</em> know that.” David didn’t believe it, he didn’t want to think his men kept things behind his back.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Who else knew about this place?” Jesus asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Your outfit is the only one who <em>gutted</em> my town.” Tripp scowled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Jesus looked over the crates himself, “This is bigger than just Prescott. There’s spoils from other towns here, too. Towns I heard got raided a while back.” He was visibly surprised and shocked, not his usual casual self. “There’s-there’s stuff here from the Kingdom- Lakeside, Westover too!” He listed off the other settlements that were raided.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Muffled sounds of voices outside the building began to echo in the room, they all went quiet trying to place the voices and their words. At first they, whoever was talking, were speaking unclearly about the herd.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t gone all trigger-happy on David’s family-” They place the voice, it’s <em>Max.</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Take cover,” Jesus whispered hurriedly to everyone.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>They all crouched down and hid behind the crates and such. The three men from David’s squad walk in, Max, Lonnie, and Badger. All carrying bags of supplies.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Fuck ‘em! I’d do that little bitch again just to see her head pop.” Badger is heard laughing loud and clear, his tone is sickening. Javi and David stare at each other with equal rage.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You sure as hell are stupid, ain’t ya?” Max said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Rage almost takes control of David, he held his gun out, but Javier put a hand on it to stop him from shooting. Not yet.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Only just realizing that now?” Lonnie chimed in.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I told you! Joan is on the warpath. Last thing we need is people gettin’ wind of all this stuff.” Max dropped his supplies on the table, the other men did so in unison.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>As they place down the supplies on the table, the group from behind them approach silently from behind with their weapons</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Look at all this shit. We’re frickin’ rolling in it!” Badger yelled self-satisfied.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’ll give you that.” As Max spoke, Javier was gripping and raising his bat.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Lonnie smiled, “Just glad we found some more smokes. That shit is the new gold.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Shame you can’t take it with you,” Javier’s voice was dripping with angry sarcasm, exposing them now that they are close with their weapons out.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Like punctuation to Javier, David then uppercut Badger in the face so hard that the man crashed to the ground. He drops his gun and David kicks it down a grate.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“David!?” Max yelled in surprise, his eyes now staring down the short barrel of David’s gun.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I thought better of you, Max. I really did.” David held his gun on him and an angry, disappointed look on his face.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Max took bargaining steps forward with his hands up. “David! Come on, man. We’re a unit! There’s no need for-” Max’s panic is quickly dropped, his hands reach down and pull out his gun. He pointed and shot at David, but David and the rest all ducks, and the bullets hit the crates behind them causing wooden shards to break off. David, then on the ground, pulled out his gun and started shooting back. Max and Lonnie ran off in different directions, and Jesus jumped up his feet and started going after one.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Stop it! He’s getting away!” Jesus yelled, he decided to run after Lonnie, and Clementine jumped up to follow him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger and Javier have a brief glimpse of eye contact, causing the bearded man to get off the floor and start running.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Go!” David gestured to Badger with his gun for Javi to go pursue him. “Get Badger!” He then nodded to Luke, and the two of them went after Max.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier chased after Badger through the warehouse, bat in hand. While running, Badger threw a rack from along the wall into Javier’s way. Javier managed to dive though it before it crushed on top of him, but he was set back. Badger goes up some metal-grate stairs to an office above, and Javi bursted in seconds later to the sight of Badger hurriedly loading a shotgun.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi dropped his bat and lunged forward, pinning Badger against the wall with the barrel of the gun against his neck. Badger headbutted Javier with much force, and pushed back against the shotgun, managing to get the end close to Javier’s ear before he fired. Despite the loud shot, Javi pushed it back so it fired up and at a window instead, and he forced Badger down to be Badger pinned again.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>He elbowed Badger in the face, hard, breaking Badger’s nose bridge and the bearded man yelled. Javier did it again, which broke his stance enough for Badger to pick him up and push him across the room. They slammed and crashed over the desk. Now on the floor, Javier was flat on his back with Badger on top of him. Badger started to strangle him, and while Javi fought against the hold he spotted a mug to his left. Javier picked it up and smashed it into the side of Badger’s bald head. This knocked Badger off of him and onto the floor.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger then tried to pry a wrench off of some piping, but it took too long. Javi got up, grabbed his head, and smashed his face into the pipes. While down, Badger pulled the wrench off and hit Javier in the jaw. As Javier stumbled, Badger rammed him forward and smashed him through the window overlooking the rest of the warehouse.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier is out of it, his head is ringing and his vision blurry.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>From the ground floor, Tripp saw him hang halfway out the window, he called out for Javier and started to run up to the room.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger pulled Javier back through the window. Some of the glass scraped his cheek, but Javier couldn't feel it. Javier was still numb and heard everything like it was underwater. He fell to ground on all fours, and heard Badger’s voice muffled under the ringing, but soon enough he could hear the voice rise as the ringing diminished.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger was standing above Javier, “Ever since the junkyard, you’ve been nothing but a fly in my ointment.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier’s vision started to sharpen, and across the floor he saw his bat. He tried to reach for it, but Badger got to it first.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“If I had known you were David’s brother,” Badger kicked Javier in the face, throwing him back on his back against the wall. “I’d’ve shoved that gas can down your throat and lit you up like a candle!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier groaned and sat up despite his pain, to the right and saw the shotgun.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“-But this’ll do.” Badge raised the bat high and swung at Javi’s head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Before the bat came down, Javier rolled away to the shotgun. The clang of the bat revererabed and rang from the force it hit the concrete with. Javier kicked Badger in the knee, bringing him to the ground too. In the split second it took for Badger to get up and raise the bat, Javier (still flat on his back) aimed the shotgun, and shot Badger right in the gut. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger drops the bat and reels back, the sound of his guts and blood splatters onto the floor. He backs up until he hits the file cabinet, then slides down onto the floor.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger, despite his wound, still fought with words. “Fuckin’ Garcías!” He took a painful gasp, and looked at his bloodsoaked hand. “You-you took my goddamn guts out! Ah...fuck-”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier got up from the ground and stared Badger down, there was a pained expression on his face. “This is for <em>Mariana!</em> She was a <em>sweet</em> little girl!” His voice is in pain, grief, and anguish. “Just minding her own business…”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Badger gagged on blood and spat it out on the ground, a sadistic grin came to his bloodied mouth. “Not. Anymore. Fuck her. And fuck you too.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier slowly picked up his bat, the end scraped against the concrete in a menacing and meaningful way, it held his attention as he prepared for his act. Badger looks at it indignant, his face daring Javier to do it. At that moment, Tripp and Conrad walked in. Javier looks at them, and Conrad approaches Badger.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Easy, Conrad. He’s already down.” Tripp tried to soothe his friend.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Conrad kicked Badger in the jaw. “Remember my woman? Francine?” His voice was quivering in anger. <em>”You.</em> You snuffed her out like she was <em>nothin’.”</em> <br/>Badger coughed, and gave Conrad the same grin. “She <em>was.</em> Nothing.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Conrad stepped back in his shock. This monster will be dead soon enough.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He’s finished.” Tripp looked to Javi. “Get it over with.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on. What’re you waiting for?” Badger taunted, the breath was fighting out of his lungs.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier took a deep breath, raised the bat over Badger’s head, and brought it down with force. Badger, for as long as he was able, still looked at Javier with a goading face, like he’s proud of this. He doesn’t beg or say anything else at all. It took three hits until the man went unconscious, a dent caving in the top of his skull. His lights were out, but he was still staring at Javier. Taunting him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“That’s enough, man. He’s gone.” Tripp said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier stopped himself from bludgeoning Badger further, from wiping his face off the planet. He relaxed his shoulders in exhaustion. He did it, he avenged Mariana, but he knew this wasn't what she would have wanted…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>There’s a reflective silence for a moment, but only a moment. Once again chaos comes back into their mind as the three were startled by a gunshot coming from downstairs, they ran to it. David and Max were wrestling one another, and Luke was trying to pull the gun off of Max from behind. David used his military combat skills to swiftly get the gun to fall out of Max’s hands. The gun slid over to Javier’s feet and Max was thrown to the ground.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He’s all yours.” David says to his brother.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Stop! Please!” Max pleaded, he held the side of his head and pulled himself to his knees. With his hands up, Luke pulled a zip tie out of his bag and began to bind his hands.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Raiding? Looting! You betrayed who we are!” David shouted, he felt betrayed himself. “You betrayed Richmond!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on, David! This <em>is</em> Richmond!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What’s that supposed to mean?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Max didn’t answer. So David pulled out his gun and pressed it to the back of Max’s head, to make him answer.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I ain’t got nothing to say!” Max said in an almost squealing voice.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Start talking. Or I promise, you’re gonna scream.” Javier threatened Max and presented the gun.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Okay, okay! Take it easy,” Max yelled, a fruitless attempt at deescalation.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’m waiting.” Javier scowled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“C’mon man! It wasn’t like we were doin’ this by ourselves. Joan was in on it!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The García brothers kept looking at each other with suspicion of his claims.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We did it on her orders! She-she said we needed it to survive. I wanted to letcha in, but she told me you’d never go for it. I’m...I’m sorry…” Max confessed.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It is too late for ‘sorry’ you backstabbing shitbag!” David was furious.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Please- don’t kill me! I’ll help you! I’ll-I’ll tell everyone in Richmond about this! I’ll help you get back inside. Expose her to the others!” Max pleaded.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You better.” Luke tightens the ties.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi exhaled something between a sigh and a scoff, something unsure but tired and reluctant. He didn’t want to take another life today. “Maybe he’ll be useful.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David, listening to his brother, lowered his gun off of Max’s head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Thank you! Thank you…” Max grovelled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David, still wanting revenge, pistol whips him on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. “I needed that.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke was disapproving, but understood Max was partially responsible for his daughter’s death, and so many more.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The early morning sunlight met the men as they broke out of the warehouse. Clementine and Jesus were already waiting outside and met them at the chain link gate fence next to the truck.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Where’s Lonnie?” David asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He gave us the slip.” Jesus pointed down the road. “High-tailed it back towards Richmond.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Son of a bitch, David shook his head, “If he warns Joan…”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wasn’t there one more?” Clementine asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier looked down at his bloody bat, everyone looked as well in disgust.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Oh…” She said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What? It’s good riddance… That son of a bitch killed Mariana.” David spat out.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Did <em>that</em> make you feel better?” Jesus looked at Javier, disappointed in him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I wouldn’t shed any tears if I were you.” David said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Maybe I’m shedding them for your brother.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You’re damn right it did. Bastard deserved everything he got.” Javier nodded.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Be careful, Javi. Act like a beast, you risk what makes you human. Don’t become the thing you hate.” Jesus gave the sage wisdom that got him his nickname.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“That man shot his niece. Right in front of him! I would have done the same, Javi.” Clementine defended Javier. “Sometimes there’s just no other way to make things right…” She bit her lip in memory. “An old friend of mine took a crowbar to someone once.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke winces, he didn’t watch Kenny destroy Carver, but he heard the sounds of the bludgeoning. He saw the aftermath, how Kenny completely crushed his face off this earth. The García brothers glanced at each other, then noticed Jesus walking off.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“My people need to know about what we found here,” the wanderer said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What about your missing friends?” Javier asked.<br/>“I’m surprised you care. Human life isn’t exactly <em>high</em> on your list of priorities.” Jesus squinted at Javier. “Don’t have time to keep lookin’. They’d want me to get home and warn them. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Javier asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“To be honest, I think my odds are better than yours.” Jesus started walking again. “I won’t forget about you. You have my word.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It’s a shit storm out there, man. I don’t see how you’re gonna make it.” Tripp said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Jesus, with his casual grace, said “One step at a time.” Then, he was gone down the trail.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We need to get back to Richmond, fast. I have loved ones in there.” David said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We both do.” Javi joined.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We <em>all</em> do.” Clementine said, she and Javier nodded at each other.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I gotta break Eleanor outta there. Once she’s safe, I...I’m gonna tell her how I feel.” Tripp smiled, then looked at Javi. “Hey, you said it yourself. If this never washes out, might as well get neck deep.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re gonna need allies in Richmond. Lingard and Clint, they’re our best bet.” David looked at Luke, coming up with his plan. “If we can get to them before Joan does, maybe we have a chance.” For the next part, he looked at Javi, and he apologized. “I know I said I was ready to say goodbye before, but I can’t do this without you. Can I count on you?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Of course, David. You’re my brother. I never forgot that. Even if you did.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David exhaled, “I’m glad to hear that, Javi. You and I...we should talk. When this is done.” David walked away towards the truck parked in front of the gate. “If Lonnie raises the alarm, they’ll be waiting for us at the gates. There’s a way in round back that will get us around any sentries. We can take Badger’s truck.” It was a hummer truck with barred windows and a New Frontier symbol painted on the hood, it looked almost like a tank.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I doubt he’ll mind.” Javier joked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Come on,” David opened the door and hopped in the front seat. “We gotta get on the move,” he turned on the engine, “Herd’s closing in.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>All hop in the truck. Javi, Tripp, Luke, and Clem took the bed in the back, while Conrad got in with David to secure their prisoner. The truck roared to life and they headed back to Richmond on the jostling bed in the back. Faintly, if not realistically, it felt like they were riding into battle.</em>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <em>They had to come into Richmond through the sewer systems to avoid being apprehended immediately by guards, or be taken to confront Joan before they got their allies or Kate and Gabe. It had been almost six years since the city had a functioning water or plumbing system, so it wasn’t too bad to be honest, other than the odd walker of someone attempting to escape the city who knows when.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David listed the manhole cover and looked out, the coast was clear, and they were coming up in an abandoned Richmond alley. David climbed out first, Max soon after with his hands untied, through David remedied that once his feet were on the ground. Then came Javier and Tripp, the later pulling Clementine up by her hand, and then Luke and Conrad after her. They quietly came down the alley closer to the street, and ducked behind a blue dumpster. There were two guards in the street, and this spot gave the group enough space to see but still hide from them. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Once they all crouch together in a small cluster, David ordered out his plan. “I’m thinking this will go a lot better if we all split up. A group this big can’t exactly sneak around. Particularly if they’re expecting us.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Eleanor’s in there somewhere,” Tripp pointed his thumb to chest. “I’m going after her.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Then I’m comin’ with you.” Conrad said, the two Prescott men nodded in agreement.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Lingard brought her to the clinic. That’s your best bet.” David told them where to go, and both nodded to show they got it.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David then turned to brother for, what David thought, was the most important part of the plan. “Javi, that’s when you’ll go to get Kate and Gabe. Then bring them to my house. It’s the one with the raven on the hitching post. We’ll all meet up there, after me and Luke pay a little visit to Joan… Stay out of sight. They’ll be keeping an eye out for us. He warned.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Just- don’t wait up for me, okay?” Javier looked to the asphalt for a moment.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi-”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’m gonna do whatever I have to, to keep Kate and Gabe safe. After that, I’m not promising anything.” He was ster more in assertive of his command than David had ever seen. Unfortunately, this was a bad time for David for Javi to finally become a man.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi, just follow the plan. I’m counting on you to hold up your end.” He then looked over and squinted at Max and Luke, nodding his head to gesture them to go. They crawl away together to go see Joan, but Luke stays behind a little longer.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’ll scout ahead,” Tripp said to Javier, Conrad followed.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Clem, I’m going with David to talk with Joan. Once this is all settled we’ll get AJ, ‘til then just...stay safe.” Luke touched her shoulder before peeling out. He trusted Clementine to handle herself, and she nodded to him to agree.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What about you, Clem?” Javier looked to the girl, the last left in need of a task.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’ll come help you get Kate Gabe, then lay low wherever you take them. I don’t know...I gotta wait until this all plays out, but I don’t want to be too far in case shit hits the fan.” Clementine said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Sounds reasonable,” Javier nodded. It’s strange how he felt Clementine was more dependable than some of the grown adults on his team. “Thank you.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clem pursed her lip, she seemed worried. “Keep an eye on David. He may be playing nice, but I’d still watch your back.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Give me a little credit, Clem. I can handle David.” The man was his brother after all.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I really hope you’re right. Family means something different now...you have to make it for yourself.” Clementine said. She was just thinking about AJ, and about bringing home. She just needed to get through all of this and she could have her boy back.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier smiled to her before she stood up.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Tripp came back down the alley, “David said to hang a right up that corner.” He pointed behind them with his thumb. “Seems clear, the guards must’ve walked on by.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Great.” Javi stood up and turned to face the road. “Let’s move.”</em>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <em>It wasn’t long before they reached the hospital. The place seemed strangely devoid of people at the moment. Clementine didn’t trust it, she and Conrad chose to wait and hide outside to watch for guards, or rush to warn David and Luke if something went wrong, while Tripp and Javier went in to save those they loved.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier and Tripp tried to be as quiet as they could going down the halls, their weapons out just in case. Coming up on Kate’s room, he peeked inside through the window to see Kate still resting. He turns to address Tripp before they head their separate ways. “Find Elle. Tell her we have to move Kate.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You got it. I’ll meet you here.” Tripp left to find Eleanor. As Javi entered Kate’s room, he saw Gabe sitting in a chair off to the side of the room. Gabe saw his uncle and ecstatically rushed over to him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi!” The boy embraced his uncle in a hug. Javier hugged him back and looked over to Kate sitting up, probably awoken by the commotion. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We thought you were…I was…super worried,” The kid sounded shaken up.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi pulled apart from the hug to look down at his nephew. “Are you guys okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“No. We’re fine,” Gabe answered, he seemed a bit confused to why Javier would think that they would be hurt.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“They said you guys were ‘denied entry.'" Kate said. She had been thinking and worrying since yesterday afternoon for them.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It’s true,” Javi answered, looking out the window outside. “We’re on borrowed time. The people who run this place, they’re ruthless.” He looked back at his family with determination. “We have to move.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Where’s my dad? Is he coming?” Gabe asked frantically.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You’re dad’s taking care of a few loose ends. And right now, he needs me to take care of you.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Oh...okay.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier turned to Kate. “David has a house in town. He thinks we’ll be okay there.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Then let’s go!” Gabe urged.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wait, Javi?” Javier stopped halfway to the door to listen. “While you were gone, this woman, Joan, came by. I felt like she was sizing me up. It was...creepy,” she mentioned, airing her concerns. They had been there less than twenty-four hours, but every hour her bad feelings about this whole place worsened. “She implied David was in trouble, like he was no longer in charge. She kept saying Gabe and I didn’t need to worry, but…” she paused and looked over to her stepson, “it only made me worry more.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Joan’s been running this place behind David’s back. She’s pulling the strings.” Javi informed them.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What do you mean?” Kate asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“The people who shot you, answer to her.” Kate’s eyes widened in horror at the revelation of the news. “She ordered raids on other settlements, we found all this stuff from Prescott,” Javi continued.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“She was <em>behind</em> Prescott?” Kate’s voice low.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“David’s rounding up allies to confront her right now.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi- I know you wanted to try it here, but this isn’t our fight,” Kate tried to reason. “We already lost Mari because of these people. Now the whole place is about to become a war zone.” She just wanted what was left of their family to be safe, not caught up in stuff that would get them killed.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>”What? What do you mean?” Gabe asked, a confused look plastered on his face.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It’s David’s fight, Kate. And we’re in it with him.” David said. He may not have had his brother’s back his whole life, but David needed it now. Mariana deserved this too,</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He needs our help! Kate, c’mon!” Gabe pleaded.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You’re not hearing me,” Kate reaffirmed, louder this time. “<em>This</em> is <em>not</em> our problem!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javi and Kate’s discussion is interrupted by the door opening revealing Tripp with Eleanor in tow. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What’s going on? Tripp said we had to move to David’s house.” Eleanor asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re not doing that. We’re getting the fuck out of Richmond before it’s too late.” Kate moved to get up out of bed and held her side as a wave of pain jolted through her from the movement. She grit her teeth to keep from groaning.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Getting out? You shouldn’t even be sitting up,” Eleanor ordered, walking over to Kate’s side to usher her back down.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What?” Gabe was visibly panicking, “What about my dad?! We can’t just leave him!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Gabe… We don’t even know who he is anymore. We have to get away before he gets us all killed!” Kate continues, she just needed Gabe to <em>listen.</em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“But he won’t know where we are! <em>Again!</em>” Gabe pleaded, not wanting to leave his dad behind again. Kate turned to Javi, hoping he’d be reasonable enough to see how much of a bad idea it was to stay in Richmond.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I can’t go back to how things were before. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Kate pleaded once again. Refusing to go back to a marriage of constant bickering and arguing. Refusing to go back to expecting David to be angry at everything and nothing and leaving her to pick up the pieces. She didn’t want to go back to that.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re gonna go to David’s house,” Javi reassured to Gabe to ease his worries.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi!” Kate protested.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It’s the best bet we got,” he reasoned, turning to face Kate. “It’s <em>all</em> we got.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Kate, Javi, and Gabe all glanced at each other, feeling different emotions for one reason or the other. Kate, not wanting to get involved with David’s fight, despite her pleas being ignored, while Gabe felt annoyed with his stepmom for wanting to abandon David, and Javi just stressed and wanting to keep them all together.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’ve got a gun in the room they gave me. Sounds like we might need it,” Eleanor mentioned. She nodded to Javi and headed on out.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’ll come with you,” Tripp spoke up. “We’ll catch up with you guys.” Tripp left to follow after Eleanor.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Sounds good.” Javier nodded.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Kate got up and tried to walk to the door, but groaned and fell to her knees as a wave of pain shot through her body again. Javier crouched down and tried to help her up, but she held a hand up to him refusing, still pissed at him for denying her plan.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Don’t,” she grumbled irritatedly. She picks herself up and slowly walks out the door, slightly limping.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier noticed the downtrodden look on Gabe’s face and attempted to ease his worries once again. It was like second nature...all those years taking care of the kids, he felt like a parent in his own right. “It’s okay, buddy. She’s mad at me, not you.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“No, it’s not that. It’s…” he shook his head, feeling embarrassed. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What’s up?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I just wish Clementine was still with us,” Gabe clarified, he crossed his arms.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier smirked to himself, but didn't comment. Has Gabe really grown up that much? “Clementine’s here, buddy, she’s waiting right outside.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Really? Cool,” Gabe replied a bit too eagerly. “I know, I know. She’s tough, but...I don’t know. It’d be nice to talk with her.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Yeah, it would...she could really use a friend right now,” Javi mentioned. In the short time he’d known her, he could tell she had been through a lot. She likely needed someone her age to talk to, someone who wouldn’t patronize her or make her feel too young.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Yeah,” he sighed, “Me too.” Being a kid in this world was hard, even for someone like Gabe who had people taking care of him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We need to go, okay?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Okay.”</em>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <em>Conrad, Tripp, and Eleanor broke off to go to Eleanor’s apartment. They wanted a chance to rest and be somewhere nearby when shit hit the fan, since the herd was stopping them from going far, far away from here. Clementine went with the Garcías, she’d be laying low with them.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The four of them walked through the streets of Richmond trying to find David’s house. Clementine had her gun out, walking beside Gabe as he tried to talk with her. Kate listened in for a moment, now adorning her pink flannel again that she had on upon first arriving in Richmond.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You know this is what David lives for, right?” Kate said to Javi.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“A brawl,” she answered tiredly, “I only ever truly saw him happy when he was talking about being at war. The world going to shit? I guarantee that was the best day of his life.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re in the thick of it, Kate. If he thrives in this shit, that only improves our chances.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Just because he likes it doesn’t mean he’s good at it…”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>They arrived at a post with a raven on it, once turning around the corner they saw a small house wedged between two others, and Ava sitting on the porch. “Took your damn time,” Ava grumbled as she approached them, walking past them with purpose. She was not someone to waste time. “Come on, we have to hurry.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wait a second, David told us to come here…” Javi said with confusion.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“He’s talking to the others now. Trust me, shit’s about to fly. He’s gonna need our help. We gotta get on the move.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Get them to safety first,” Javier gestured to his family. “Then we can go.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“This is the best way to protect them. They’ll be safe here, don’t worry.” Ava took off and started walking without another word, expecting Javier to be soon behind.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier took a couple steps forward to follow before looking back to his family to reassure he’ll be back for them. “I’ll come back for you. Both of you.” Him and Kate share a look, tense and worried. Kate still thought that this was a bad idea, and Javier knew that no matter what happened it wouldn’t go off without a hitch.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You better.” The woman said. It was a command. It was a prayer.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier walked off to follow Ava as the other three entered the house. When he gave one last look back, Clementine gave him a nod as if to say ‘I'll protect them.’ And Javier had no doubt she would.</em>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier opened the tall, arched doors with both hands to enter the church, and Ava came in behind him with the same assertiveness. Joan and Clint were standing up on the preacher’s podium with Lonnie behind them, and in between them and the pews were Lingard, Luke, David, and a binded. There’s a guard by the door, but that does not stop Javier from approaching further.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I don’t like your tone, David.” Joan uncrossed her arms, her voice scolding mother. “If this is about your brother-”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what this is about. You’ve got a lot to answer for.” David said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Me? You must be joking,” She was dismissive, almost amused. Until she and the others notice Javier coming down the aisle.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Javi! Kate and Gabe?” David asked.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Safe.” Javier nodded. He caught a glance at Luke, and nodded to say tha Clementine was safe as well.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I knew I could count on you, brother. We’re gonna fix this, together.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Wouldn’t miss it.” Javier comes to stand side by side with his brother. At that moment, both were proud of one another, unusual for their relationship. “Now let’s see some fireworks.<br/>Clint: What’s going on here?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We’re just getting started.” David said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You smuggled your brother into Richmond? Despite what we agreed? Clearly, you have no respect for any of us.” Joan was honestly shocked by this breach of their rules, David was an authoritarian who enforced them with pride. “This is serious, David. You know we can’t let this go.” She crossed her arms.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You don’t deserve respect! Not after the things you’ve done.” Javier chimed in.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Clint side-eye looked to Joan. “What things?” He stepped down from the podium to speak to Javier. “What’s this all about?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Javier looked at Clint, Lingard, and the guards. This was his audience, and they were listening. “She’s been ordering raids on peaceful communities. Sending your men to murder and loot!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“It’s true,” Luke looked to Lingard and Clint, men he had goodwill with. “I saw the supplies.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Lingard was genuinely shocked and appalled. “Raiding?! Joan, can this be?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Joan laughed, as if this was too absurd to entertain. “He’s pointing the finger at everyone. First Badger, now me.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“That’s a serious charge. You come swinging, you better have proof.” Clint tried to be the voice of reason, his usual role.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>David shoved Max forward roughly. “Here’s our proof. This lowlife was part of the raids.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Max looked around widely with his black eye, and spoke up in a strained voice. “I-”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Joan stared him down, attempting to control him with her sheer authority. “Well, Max. What do you have to say?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“We had a deal, Max. Your life for the truth.” Javier reminded him of the threat.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I didn’t forget.” Max snapped.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Then what are you waiting for?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Max stepped forward to Clinton. Clint is the second most powerful in their community and Joan’s closest ally. Him knowing would be the most damaging. “Me, Badger, and Lonnie...We ran the ops.” He looked at Lingard then to Joan. “On Joan’s orders!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Goddamnit, Max!” Lonnie swore.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’m washing my hands of this, man!” Max defended.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Joan walked off to the side of the podium and poured herself a glass of something. She was collected, cool. She would need to know exactly what to say.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Joan…how could you?” Clint was disappointed, shocked, and <em>betrayed.</em> He didn’t want to believe Joan would do something so violent.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Joan took a moment to collect herself, and took a slow sip out of her glass before facing them all. In a rational, calm, and prepared voice, she spoke. “The real question is how could I not? What would happen to us without your fertilizer, Luke? Where would we be without your gas and parts, Clint? Or your pills, Paul? Do you think our community would survive? I did what I had to to ensure that we would. It wasn’t easy…” </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Lingard sat down on a bench in shock, and Clint was pensive with her reasoning.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“So you survived. But at what cost? Do you even know how much suffering you’ve caused.” Javier said.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I have no doubt it’s less than I’ve prevented!” She paced on the stage, her presence became more commanding. “All of you remember the winter. How much we lost… Friends.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>A pause. She looked to Lingard. “Lovers.” </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>She looked to David and Luke. “Children.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I made a promise I would never let that happen again. The raids were just to keep us going until Richmond reached sustainability,” she sounded so strongly persuasive. “We’re so close,” She looked at Clint, and he began to look unsure. “So close to our dream. Do we really want to risk it all by fighting amongst ourselves? We should all be on the same side of this, David and Luke. On Richmond’s side. Surely you can all see that.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>There’s a pause. Reflection, grief for the losses she reminded them of… But they wouldn’t let her get away with this.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Prospering off the suffering of other people? That’s no way to live. No way at all.” Javier shook his head.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“If we’re surviving like that. It ain’t <em>worth</em> it.” Luke looked to Javier at his side in agreement.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You’re damn right about that.” David said, he then looked to the other council members, Lonnie, and the guards. “You people make me sick. We lost Mariana to those raids! How many others lost their kids too!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I’m sorry, David. It breaks my heart about your child.” Her back is turned from them and she returns to the podium. “It’s… It’s something I’m going to have to live with.” She gives a small shrug. It’s something matter of fact, sickeningly <em>professional.</em> She raised her cup and took another sip, then firmly placed it in her hands again before turning around and ordering the guards. “Take them!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Three armed guards step forward to the dissenters.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“What the hell!?” David snapped.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Luke was equally as shocked. “Joan, what-”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Joan was assuming all control, now using her power to revoke their positions. “Put them in a cell until I can figure out what to do with them.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Don’t you <em>fucking</em> touch me. That’s an order!” David barked to the guard behind him.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“They don’t take orders from you anymore, David. You’re done here.” Clint chose his side, and looked to Luke. “And so are you, for conspiracy and ration theft.” Clint had known of Luke’s under the table deals, and siding with Joan he pulled out all the cards he could. “You all put yourself before the group.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“I hope you choke on your fucking cake. It looked like shit by the way!” Javier yelled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“You won’t get away with this, Joan! All of this will come back on you eventually.” Luke yelled to her as he got down on his knees with hands up. The gun aimed at him picked no sides.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“Paul, come <em>on.”</em> David called on to Lingard, his close friend and closest ally.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Lingard was stressed out and pensive, completely blindsided and unsure what to do. “I’m sorry...my hands are tied.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>“This is not over, Joan. I have friends here. Allies.” David growled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>The guards once again reclenched their guns and pushed forwards. Joan gave a subtle nod to the guard to the right of Javi, and he then kicked Javier’s knee so he folded to the ground on his knees. The same method is used on David, knowing the man was too proud to submit. David raised his hands to the back of his head and looked at Javi, but before Javi could put his own hands up the butt of a machine gun was smashed into his head. Javier was out.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>And with that, one coup failed, and another succeeded. Factions were bound between blood and betrayal, and whether family or comrade the sides were drawn. All that one could do was hope to survive the skin they’re in.</em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hooooooo boy that was LONG. i am sorry. the next chapters will likely be similar in length, but i'm not sure about how long it will take for them to come out. hopefully before the end of this year. leave a comment! they really motivate me to write :))</p><p>alternate stories for ANF:<br/>- if kenny lived i think he would be openly hostile to the NF. he would have convinced clem to steal the medicine and got them both kicked out. he and david hate each other. however, he is badly wounded from a car accident he and clementine got in, so she's the one who has to take care of him. he sacrifices himself to save Richmond, gets along with javier, and tells clementine to find and keep AJ safe.<br/>- if jane was the deuteragonist i have some ideas. my editor/beta reader nyilis has a jane AU called "what happens know," so you could check that out :) we have a lot of similar ideas if i wrote a jane au, i'd have her have the baby live, sort-of date ava, aj and her baby get sick with the same thing, she convinces clementine to steal the drugs but they get caught, both get kicked out but stay nearby. jane and ava continue a relationship, but behind clementine's back, and ava tells jane that her baby dies but aj is alive, however ava doesn't know where he is. jane doesn't tell clementine this bc she think it will give clem more heartbreak, but it's revealed in episode 3 with the same emotional climax. i don't think jane would sacrifice herself for richmond, but i think she would die somewhere important in the finale. she and david HATE each other, she gets along with javier and kate, and teases clem about gabe.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Above the Lie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yoooooooooo only one chapter after this!!!! holy shit.</p><p>i skipped a couple of scenes i thought were boring, but i recap the important parts :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With their hands now unbound, the three dissenters were thrown into the quarantine jail as prisoners, New Frontier guns pointed at their backs. “Get in there, you three.” One of David’s former solders shoved his gun towards them to push them further in. “Joan’s gonna figure out what to do with you.</p><p>“She's making a <em>huge</em> mistake.” David growled, he was glaring at the backstabber who was holding them in.</p><p>The Frontier Soldier shook his head. “No, you made a mistake when you tried to attack her!”</p><p>From behind the soldier came another head of the council. Clint, who had sided with Joan and revealed Luke’s rule breaking. Was he a co-conspirator in all this, or just willing to reap the benefits? “Hey! Everybody just take a breath, alright?”</p><p>“What the <em>fuck,</em> Clint?” Luke said. Of all the other council leaders, he had the most faith in Clint’s character. He thought that over the time they spent together working on the greenhouses, they had become friends. But Clint turned on a dime. “Are you kidding me, man?!”</p><p>“I was just trying to tell them-” Javier attempted to explain himself, but Clint cut him off.</p><p>“And that's your mistake, right there. You can't fight everybody. Understand that Joan's not looking for revenge. She just wants order. Cooperation is the name of the game. There's still a way through this. But you've got to let Joan enforce the laws.” Clint stated.</p><p>Javier shook his head. “You do anything she tells you to do, huh? Go along with whatever she says, just to keep your place.”</p><p>Clint looked off to the side, parly doubtful and partly guilty. Was he unsure of what he had done? “It's not like that. Joan's got a tough job. She needs all our help to keep this place safe. You boys want to make it out of here? Just relax and trust in the process.” With that, Clint nodded to the guard and left. The door was shut and locked, and the three were left to await punishment.</p><p>Luke rubbed his neck in anxiety and paced around on the concrete floor. “This is <em>bad,</em> this is real bad…”</p><p>“Ugh!” Javier scoffed in frustration, he looked to his brother. “What are we gonna do?”</p><p>“I never trusted Joan. I didn't think she'd turn on me like this!” That was a lie. David had trusted the woman, immensely. Overdramatic exaggerations were par for the course when he was upset, and this betrayal from one of his closest confidants was enough to push him to that. And Javier could tell.</p><p>“David! Hey!” Javier held a hand out and faced him. He knew what could happen when David stewed too long in his anger, he needed to get his attention.</p><p>“I thought I had it handled. All of this is my goddamn fault! I should have seen it coming. But I dropped the ball. Big time.” David’s voice was raised.</p><p>“We pushed the wrong people too far. Now we're all gonna pay the price.” Javier said.</p><p>“Joan lied.” Luke spoke up. “You couldn't have anticipated that.” He looked off to the side. His trust in Joan was somewhat tedious. She was smart, she was good at talking and convincing, but she always seemed to have her own plans. Two faces, almost. “She tricked us.”</p><p>“After what happened with Kate, I told myself I'd go easier on people. And now this! Argh!” David kicked a locker in frustration.</p><p>“Whoa, man-” Luke went wide-eyed. He had seen some of David’s outbursts before, but didn’t want to see this go further.</p><p>Javier yelled, “Easy!”</p><p>“I don't want them to suffer for my mistakes! Not Kate, definitely not Gabe.” David didn’t want to repeat the past, he didn’t want his actions and foolhearty trust to fuck up his family life again. He didn’t want to disappear on them, like he tried to with enlistment. David ran a hand over his forehead. “I keep doing this. Making the same stupid mistakes.”</p><p>Javier paused for a moment, thinking of what to say to try to calm David, or make the situation better. He remembered that day before all this at the batting cages. When David confided in him and Javier managed to not fuck it up. “Remember when you wanted to run away and re-enlist?”</p><p>“Yeah.” David met his eye contact. “You talked me out of it.”</p><p>“And you fought to keep your family. You can do it again. Now.”</p><p>David steeled his expression. “Listen to me carefully. I don't care what's going to happen to me. I'm most worried about Kate and Gabe. They've got to survive. No matter what.”</p><p>“You can count on them, okay? Kate's level head got us out of more than a few jams. Gabe's a fighter, but he's smart.” In all their years on the road, Javier had seen them grow into being more dependable. Survivors.</p><p>David nodded. He didn’t know his family anymore, and he knew that. They must have changed in all these years, and he would have to take Javier’s word on it. “Yeah, okay.”</p><p>“No matter what we do, Joan's already poisoned this well.” Luke said. After all this, Richmond might be truly fucked. Nothing destroys a community faster than turbulent leadership, Luke knew that…and he’s seen Richmond go down that path for a while now.</p><p>David agreed, and knew they needed an out. “We've got to figure a way out of Richmond.”</p><p>“All of us?” Javier asked.</p><p>David nodded. “All of us. This time tomorrow, we'll be together. And safe.”</p><p>“We can beat this. Together.” Javier needed to believe it.</p><p>David pulled out his fist, and Javier bumped with his own for their pact and his own reassurance. From across the room, Luke nodded in agreement with their plan. He needed to get out of here too, and running with Clemetine these folks for a while would be better than going alone. But before they came up with a more concrete plan than pure intent, Joan entered the locker room.</p><p>Joan looked over them, and the guards behind her fanned their guns out. “So glad to see you boys getting along.”</p><p>“Armed escort? You're that scared to face me?” David growled again.</p><p>“Oh, David. I'm not scared of you.” Joan smiled condescendingly. “I came here to talk, not fight. You're not going to be a problem, are you? I just want a calm discussion. Between us.”</p><p>Javier glared back at her. “If you thought David was a problem, I got news for you. I'm even worse.”</p><p>“Oh, please…” Joan nearly rolled her eyes, but she would take Javier at his word.</p><p>“You've got the guns, you set the terms.” Luke crossed his arms, he wasn’t going to argue with the twenty gauge shotgun pointed at him or the army behind her back. If he wanted to make it out of this, he’d have to play along. And that’s what Joan liked about him.</p><p>Joan smiled slightly at the man. She appreciated Luke’s agreeableness, it was sad to see him caught up in all this mess… He’s younger than the rest of the council, but that can be an asset. He was optimistic and had ambitions for the New Frontier not too dissimilar to her own, though apparently wanted to get there through different avenues. “I'm glad you're willing to work with me.”</p><p>Joan looked at both men that had once been council members beside her. “It's sad how we ended up here. But Clint and Lingard agree: you've become a problem. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to call for a gathering in the square. The people deserve to hear a full explanation of your arrests.”</p><p>“And then?” David asked.</p><p>“Then, you'll be replaced as head of security, and Clint will assume your duties, Luke. No one's above the law.” Joan said, to both of their shock and anger. Especially David’s. “Not even you, David.”</p><p>“I know the laws, Joan. You're the one breaking them.” David asserted</p><p>“This place could've been somethin’, somethin’ good, Joan… Why’d you go and do this?” Luke expressed his disappointment.</p><p>Joan squinted. “This place needs me to keep it safe.”</p><p>“Your scheme is going to blow up in your face.” Javier waved his hand down. “Just wait.”</p><p>“I really hope not.” Joan smiled again. “I'm responsible for the lives of everyone in this community.”</p><p>“You set me up!” David shouted. “Everyone's gonna see through your lies!”</p><p>“I did what I had to do to keep the people of Richmond safe. They're going to see that.” Joan said. “And they'll also see that the biggest threat to them right now is you. We'll debate on this in the morning. Right now, David and Luke, I need to ask you some questions. In private. Bring them with this.”</p><p>She held out handcuffs to the guards, and the two were soon cuffed with their hands behind their back and led out Javier and his brother held a look at one another, but no other words were passed. The door was shut and locked again, and Javier was left alone in the jail.</p><p>“Screw this... Gotta get out of here.”</p><p>Javier spent some time looking around the quarantine for a way out, or anything else of use. There was no one at the door guarding him, but Javier didn’t know how to pick locks. He found the sink had a loose pipe. That could come in handy. After a while he turned his attention back to the barred window high up on the walls.</p><p>“Could squeeze through there…”</p><p>He grabbed a stool from nearby and placed it beneath the window, climbing up he had a much better look. Using the pipe, he smashed open the glass and tried to push the grate off. Moments later, Gabe arrived with Clementine to help.</p><p>“I've been looking everywhere for you!” Gabe happily yelled to his uncle.</p><p>“I <em>told</em> you they’d be here.” Clementine gave him a small smirk, and the two young teens shared a look.</p><p>“Gabe!” Javier stopped pushing for a moment, relieved to see his nephew again.</p><p>“Where'd they take Dad?” Gabe saw the empty room behind Javi.</p><p>Clem looked around as well. “Luke isn’t with you?”</p><p>“I don't know yet. Joan just took them off for ‘questioning.’” Javier looked at the framed bars in more detail. “Help me get outta here. These bars are loose. Help me pry them off.” Javier handed the pipe to Gabe.</p><p>Gabe tried to use the pipe as a pry, but it wasn’t working. “I can't do it! Can you help?”</p><p>“Sure.” Clementine nodded. She held onto the pipe as well. With both using their weight to pull back and Javier pushing forward, they managed to break off the bars.</p><p>“Nice work, you two.” Javier said, then held out his arms. “Now, give me a hand.”</p><p>Once again they used their efforts to pull Javier out of jail. Soon the three were out on their own, and had to prowl around carefully as to not be seen by more guards.</p>
<hr/><p>It’s not long before they reach Eleanor’s apartment. As Clementine explained, she thought they would be safer there than at David’s house after she heard of the arrests. Quick thinking, she was a smart kid. After a small scuffle with a guard, the three managed to pass through the town square. There, they saw a platform being built, and an impending sense of dread built within them as well. The air hung heavy with anticipation, and it wasn’t a stretch to think that bullets would weigh it down as well soon enough.</p><p>The three snuck into the reclaimed apartment building trying to draw as little attention to themselves as they could, but as the approached the right door they heard the muffled, loud arguing of Eleanor and Tripp.</p><p><em>“Elle, I been thinking hard about this and...I really think we should be...a thing.”</em> They could hear Tripp from through the walls without needing to press an ear up.</p><p><em>“I'm sorry. I don't know if I feel like that. That way. Look... I just don't know. It's shown me that I'm good at helping people. I can do that here.”</em> Her voice was a bit harder to make out.</p><p>
  <em>“But I can't do anything here! You know they don't want any of the rest of us like they want you! Would you be happy never seeing me again?”</em>
</p><p>Before much else was heard, the door swung open. Kate was at the door, and she pulled Javier into a hug.</p><p>“You...still pissed at me?” Javier said, the surprise made him hesitate to hug her back. But just for a moment.</p><p>“Just shut up while I'm hugging you.” The woman put her head to his chest.</p><p>As Kate sunk into him, Javier reciprocated, holding her back. “I missed you.”</p><p>“I missed you too.”</p><p>They held on for a moment, but when Javier opened his eyes to look around he made eye contact with Ava. The two nodded to one another in acknowledgement, and then the short peace he felt with Kate was broken as their tense situation came back to the forefront of his mind. They pulled away from one another.</p><p>Tripp’s voice was heard once more through the walls, much clearer than it was out by the doorway. “So what about me?”</p><p>“Tripp... I like you. But we're not a thing. Being a part of this is important. Important to me.” Eleanor was heard as well.</p><p>Conrad now made his presence known by remarking about their argument to Javier. “I wouldn't go in there if I were you. They've escalated past their same old usual argument. Never heard it this bad. That's some rough shit right there.” He shook his head. “I'm gonna try to get some shut-eye.”</p><p>“I just can't do this now-” Eleanor opened the bedroom door and left their argument, only to come face to face with Javier and all the others. “Oh, hey.” A small embarrassed blush came to her face.</p><p>“Uh... Hey!” Javier greeted her, trying to power through the awkwardness.</p><p>“Tripp! Look who's here…” She gestured to the whole gaggle of people.</p><p>“Hey! Guys, uh…” Tripp exited the bedroom as well.</p><p>“Hey!” Javier greeted him too.</p><p>Tripp put his hands on his hips, he seemed annoyed with Javier’s absence. “Where have you been?”</p><p>“Joan threw us all into jail, if you can believe it.”</p><p>“Great.” Tripp walked further into the living room. “So you gave these people more reason to hate us.”</p><p>“What is going on here in Richmond?” Eleanor asked. “You know more about this place than the rest of us. What do we do?”</p><p>“We just can't trust Joan.” Javier concluded. “She's trying to remove David from power by pinning murders on him.”</p><p>Tripp felt vindicated, “Told you we couldn't trust them.”</p><p>“I'm sorry about what's going on with David, but we should've gotten out of here when we had the chance. We still need to get out of here, Javi. Let's go.” Kate wanted to leave. She wanted to run so bad before it caught up with them in a way they couldn’t come back from. They already lost Mariana, what more did they have to lose before Javier would come with her?</p><p>Javier shook his head, “There's too much unfinished business here.”</p><p>“Javi!” Kate protested.</p><p>“Sorry, we can't leave yet.” Javier said to her. He was a part of this mess now and so was David. He couldn’t leave his brother behind, not again.</p><p>“Have you guys even looked out the window?” Eleanor crossed her arms, “Go look for yourself.” </p><p>Javi drew his eyebrows together in confusion before stepping over and opening the blinds. Then he saw what she meant. <em>Muertos.</em> Hundreds of them, maybe thousands, in a large herd as far as he could see outside the gate.</p><p>“Oh... Holy shit.” Javier cursed.</p><p>“Javi, even if you did get your brother free, you're not gonna be able to go anywhere.” Eleanor shook her head.</p><p>“Look at that! We should have left when we had a chance.” Kate said, “Now we're stuck here.”</p><p>“Least we're all still together.” Javier tried optimism.</p><p>Kate didn’t respond well to that. “Look! This isn't a glass-half-full situation!”</p><p>“It seems like we're in danger within this place and out.” Tripp said, looking through the blinds as well. “I, for one, would feel a whole lot safer with a few more guns to protect ourselves.”</p><p>“That the smartest move to make right now? That's crazy!” Kate threw her hands up.</p><p>“He's my brother, Kate.” Javier spoke again. “I have to.”</p><p>Kate sighed. It seemed she couldn’t’ve talked him out of this, and even if she did it was too late to run. “Okay…”</p><p>Javier turned to address the rest of their group. “We have to rescue David.”</p><p>“Damn straight, we do.” Ava agreed, arms crossed and assertive.</p><p>“And we might have to face those <em>muertos.”</em> Javier continued, he wasn’t sure which would be worse to face: the herd or the guards.</p><p>“I know where there's guns!” Gabe piped up. “My dad showed me. There are lots.”</p><p>“The armory.” Ava nodded, she remembered David taking his son on the tour during Kate’s surgery. “Good idea. A small group should go.”</p><p>“Okay. Sounds like a plan.” Javier agreed, it was the best first step they had. “We'll get back here as soon as we can.”</p><p>“I’ll join.” Clementine decided to join in, she could use more bullets.</p><p>Eleanor seemed unsure, “Good luck.”</p><p>“Come here.” Kate reached for Javier and Gabe’s arms.</p><p>Javier let her take his arm. “Kate, I-”</p><p>“Just be careful.” Kate pulled her boys into a hug, she would never let them leave her sight without a goodbye again.</p><p>Once they pulled away, they were all off. The García men were off, along with Clementine and Ava beside them. They would get the guns, and prepare for war.</p>
<hr/><p>Their little escapade at the armoury was a half-success. They got the weapons, yes, but while there they had an...incident. One of the guards, a bearded guy with sunglasses, was there. Javier and Gave tried to hide in a closet until he passed, but Gabe got cocky. The boy tried to attack him despite clearly hitting out of his weight range, and Javier had to step in.</p><p>This resulted in Javier receiving a non-ignorable gash on his upper arm and a tied up, unconscious New Frontier guard in their wake. They would know that they raided the armoury soon, and they had to act fast. They had the guns, now they needed allies. And with Javier needing medical attention anyways, they went to hospital to try to catch up with Lingard.</p><p>“Can they really hit targets over a mile away?” Gabe asked Ava about the crossbow in her hands, his voice was a bit hushed due to them walking down the empty and dark halls.</p><p>“Sick.” Clementine was impressed. Maybe she should get herself one of those.</p><p>Ava showed off the crossbow. “Not these, but some models.” She looked over at Javier. “Javi, it's probably best if Lingard doesn't see these guns. He and David might be tight, but he's still part of Richmond's leadership council.” Lingard was more of a pacifist than other members of the council, as can be seen by his decision to abstain in this mess.</p><p>“I'll keep watch with Ava.” Gabe said as they came close to Lingard’s office. He wanted to talk more about the guns with Ava, the woman knew so much.</p><p>“Okay.” Javier nodded to his nephew, and then over to Clementine to get her to follow. The girl did, she wanted to speak to Lingard as well…</p><p>“Do any of them have laser sights?” Gabe asked Ava, their voices retreated down the hallway as they went to keep watch by the entrances.</p><p>Javier and Clementine walk into the room to see Lingard passed out in a chair. While Javier went to check his pulse, Clementine took the opportunity to root through the medical supply cupboards.</p><p>“Clem?” Javier was confused to see her rifling through the cabinets.</p><p>“Well, Lingard isn’t gonna be much help right now.” Clementine gestured to the unconscious man, and then to Javier’s cut. “And <em>that's</em> gonna need more than just cleaning, Javi. I can stitch that for you. I can't promise it'll look great once it heals. It's better than nothing, though.”</p><p>“You've done this before?” Javier asked. He took his fingers off of Lingard’s neck now having felt his pulse.</p><p>“Yeah, I have.” Clementine rolled up her sleeve to show a nasty, jagged scar running up her forearm. “On myself, actually, in much worse conditions.” The memory of that night still shook when she was caught in the rain, or whenever she heard a dog bark. “You'll be fine. Let me see if I can find a needle and thread for that.” Clementine continued to rummage through the drawers, but paused for a moment to groan and hold her abdomen.</p><p>“Clem? Are you okay?” Javier took a step toward her. He didn’t remember her being injured during all this. Did something happen with Ava when they split up at the armoury?</p><p>“I'm fine.” Clementine snapped, but then her expression softened slightly into nervous awkwardness. “I started...bleeding.” She paused and looked back at the drawer contents. She didn’t know what was happening to her, or why it <em>kept</em> happening. It started in her year alone, after being kicked out by New Frontier. Since then, she didn’t have anyone to talk to, or ask about it. Maybe...maybe she could get an answer from Javier? “I know it's a <em>thing.</em> I've traveled with women before, and they all had it. What is it? I--I mean, like, why is it-” She sighed. “I just don't understand.”</p><p>To Javier, she seemed so confused and a little frustrated, and, behind it all, the tiniest bit scared. He was a bit surprised and felt a bit awkward about this himself, but he was going to try to make this not weird. From his time with women and Kate, he knew the worst thing he could do is make it weird. “It's totally normal. I mean, it's something fema--women have. It's...what's next. It's not fun, I know that, but Kate manages--you'll be fine too.” Fuck. He made it weird.</p><p>“Manages? How? I'm bleeding.” Clementine didn’t get it. Well, with what he said how could she?</p><p>“It's supposed to happen. You'll be fine, Clem. I promise.”</p><p>Clementine <em>hmmmed,</em> she still didn’t really get it but wasn’t going to push it. Seemed like Javier didn’t know. “Okay.”</p><p>“I can take you back to Kate. She can help you with, uh…” He was still making it weird, even though he didn’t want to. It would be best for her to talk to a woman. Between his Catholic upbringing and lack of female relatives, he knew he wasn’t going to have the answers she needed.</p><p>“Javi, worry about yourself right now. We need to find a needle and thread to stitch you up first.”</p><p>“Oh! Uh... Right.” He had completely forgotten about his cut for a moment there, and now reminded of it the pain came back. Javier began rooting around for some medical supplies as well. He found menstrual pads in one drawer and pocketed them for Clementine. Afterwards he came across penicillin and decided not to take it, though he did decide to inspect the bottle next to it.</p><p>Javier held the bottle in his hand, reading the label with the faint fluorescent light of the hallway. “Codeine. Hmm... Not much left. It looks like painkillers are in high demand.”</p><p>“I wouldn't steal any medicine if I were you..” Clementine advised. “It really doesn't go over well.”</p><p>Javier gave a light, sympathetic grimace. “No thanks.” He spoke under his breath at the bottle before putting it back. Clementine noticed that.</p><p>The girl then turned her attention back to Lingard. “Wake up! Talk to me!” She yelled at the asleep man.</p><p>Javier attempted to wake him up by slapping Lingard across the face. The man couldn't feel a thing.</p><p>“Wow.” Clementine was almost impressed with his ability to sleep. In all the years in this hell, light and fitful sleep is something that kept her alive. “That guy is really out of it.”</p><p>“Dr. Lingard? Dr. Lingard! Dr. Lingard? Can you hear me?”</p><p>“Does he look like he can hear you?” Clementine sassed.</p><p>Javier stood back and crossed his arms, he looked over the man. He was pale, with dark purple bags around red and puffy eyes. His breathing seemed shallow, and his pulse before was slow, but still constant. He was sick, or something else was clearly wrong with him.</p><p>Javier then remembered what he had for Clementine, and pulled out the pads package from his pocket. He held it out for Clementine. “Hey! This is just what you're looking for.”</p><p>Clementine took the package in two hands and looked it over, she had no idea what these were for. She looked up at Javier with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“They help you handle it. Kate'll...take care of you.”</p><p>Clementine looked over the package weirdly, but gave Javier a grateful smile as she put it in her own pocket. </p><p>Javier looked through a medical kit left on a counter. “Jackpot! Needle and thread. All sterilized and ready to go.” He gave the needle and thread to Clementine.</p><p>“Think I remember how to do this.” She said, threading the needle. She remembered back to when Jane stitched her up when they returned to Howe’s. It hurt like a bitch, but not as bad as when she did it herself. As Javier took off his shirt and sat down, Clementine poured alcohol onto a rag. “Okay. Hold still. Try not to breathe.”</p><p>Clementine cleaned the wound, it burned slightly and Javier winced, but he could take it. “Look, I know I'm probably not the best person to talk to about that stuff before…”</p><p>“You weren't that bad. Thanks for, you know, being here.” She felt slightly better after being reassured it’s normal, though she doesn’t understand why. Clementine started sewing up the wound.</p><p>“Basically, all this means is you could become a mom, if you wanted.” That’s what his own mother said to him when he asked, before she quickly cut off the conversation from doing further. It ‘wasn’t for boys to know’ as she said. He and Kate had discussed what she would say to Mariana when they time came, but he had only planned to be moral support then. Well...now that would never happen.</p><p>“Funny. I already felt like a mom.” She shrugged, eyes focused on stitching.</p><p>Javier gave a solemn nod. “AJ means a lot to you...huh?”</p><p>Clementine let out a soft, nostalgic laugh. “He’s my boy. My little goofball… I knew him before he was born. I knew his parents, and everything they did to try to keep him safe. I don’t want that to be in vain.” She paused, remembering all those that were lost and all the pain that happened to keep him safe. “I’ve taken care of him all these years...I’ve got to see him grow up. I love him. That's what keeps me going. There's things I have to stay alive to do.”</p><p>Clementine bandaged his wound, now closed shut with ten even stitches. “So...what do you think? Think I'm getting better.”</p><p>Javier looked at the bandages. “I owe you one.”</p><p>“Add it to the pile.” Clem joked, she turned around and sterilized the needle again before putting it back in the kit.</p><p>Javier got up and put his jersey back on, he got up to head to the door, but then noticed she wasn’t following him. ”You coming?” He looked over to the girl.</p><p>“I...still have to ask Lingard...about AJ.” She crossed her arms. “I...I need to know where he is. Where <em>exactly</em> on the map. Just in case Luke can’t tell me…” She was afraid that maybe Luke wouldn’t make it out of this. Maybe she wouldn’t make it out of this. And if she was going to die, she wanted to know before it happened. </p><p>Javier nodded, he understood that. The two waited quietly, and in a moment the doctor finally woke up.</p><p>Paul groaned, there was a groggy sound to it, and the fog of drugs in his eyes as he came to enough to look around. “Hello, Clementine. Javier. Thought you were rotting in a cell with David. There any chance he got out, too? I hate to think about what Joan might do to him. Despite all her pleasantries, she's a cruel bitch.” His speech was slurred.</p><p>“Joan took him before I got out. I haven't seen him since.” Javier said gently. He could see that David and Paul were close.</p><p>“That poor bastard. He's...he's not getting out. Guess there's only one sure way to get away from Joan these days.” Lingard said, his voice grave.</p><p>“Why do you care if David got out? He deserves what's coming to him.” Despite knowing that Lingard was a little too attached to David, she wouldn’t spare any pleasantries for that man.</p><p>Paul shook his head loosely from side to side. “If you think that, you don't know David.”</p><p>“I know he's the reason I lost AJ.”</p><p>“Oh, Clem. You still blame him?” Lingard asked, his speech still slow and slurred. “When AJ recovered, David stepped up. Took personal responsibility for that kid when your friend got too busy.”</p><p>“You say that like it's a good thing. I really doubt he was a positive influence.” She pouted.</p><p>“David and New Frontier’s the reason the kid's better off now than...than he's ever been. You can be as mad as you want about how...about how things panned out. The fact of the matter is, this has all been good for AJ. As a doctor, I'm telling you he's in better shape now than when I first saw him.”</p><p>“That was because he was <em>sick.</em> He would have stayed sick too, if I had listened to you, ‘doctor.’” As much as David was on her shit list, so was Lingard for refusing to give him medicine.</p><p>“I stand by what I said.” Lingard knew Clementine was a stubborn kid, and he wasn’t the kind to fight that.</p><p>“How can you say that he’s in better shape now when he’s not even here?” Clementine scowled. “Where is McCarroll Ranch?”</p><p>“That's what this is about, then?” Lingard smiled, almost amused. “You...you want to know where the boy is?”</p><p>“What do you want?” Javier asked. He could tell that Lingard wanted something in return.</p><p>“I...I just want to die.” Lingard sighed. On the end table next to him was a half-empty vial of morphine and a syringe. He took it, and filled the vial up as much as it would do. As much as he was too cowardly to take. “I want you to inject this into me.” The slurring of his speech was compounded by his Southern accent and upset drawl.</p><p>Javier put his hand up and tried to gently take the syringe from Lingard’s hand. “Hang in there. Tomorrow's another day.” He set the syringe down on the counter. It was shocking and sad, but Javier could understand how the man had gotten to this point. The whole world had gone to hell, and the one person he still had left was going to be executed soon enough. Lingard didn’t want to live to see it happen.</p><p>“I...I can't.” Lingard shook his head and looked to the ground. “When your brother found me, he...he got me to care about everything I'd given up on. My life, other people, even this goddamn place. Without him around, I don't want to care anymore.”</p><p>Clem slammed her fist on the table, not taking any of this sap story. “Just tell me where he is!”</p><p>“Then you won't have any reason to do it.” Paul tried to hand the syringe to Javier again.</p><p>“Javi, I have to know. I've been looking for too long. I can't lose him now. Not when I'm this close.” Clementine begged.</p><p>Javier handed the syringe back to Lingard. “I'm sorry, Clem. We can't do this.” He was not going to end this man’s life when he didn’t have to.</p><p>Clementine was pissed. She was so close now, closer than she had ever been. She was not going to spare some suicidal doctor for AJ. “No. I have to. If you won't, I will.”</p><p>Clementine took a step forward to go through with it before Javier grabbed her arm. “Clem, stop. He's not in his right mind. You can't do this.”</p><p>“Let go of me! I'm taking the deal.” She tried to pull her arm away.</p><p>“We'll find AJ. Just not this way.” He held firm against her struggle.</p><p>“There is no other way!” She turned back to Lingard. “Where is-”</p><p>“You can consider the deal off.” Paul said, he set the syringe back on the table.</p><p>“No!” She ripped her arm from Javier’s hold and glared at him. “Javi! How could you?!”</p><p>“So be it.” Paul put his head in his hand and closed his eyes. If he couldn’t die tonight, maybe he’d at least get some more sleep. “It's your funeral. Especially now...now that Joan's rounding up all alleged traitors. You better...hope she doesn't...find you.”</p><p>Javier sighed and looked at the doctor with pity. “Hang in there, buddy.”</p><p>With that Clementine left the room in a huff, and Javier followed after with a sympathetic glance behind. </p><p>“Oh! Hey. Hi, Clementine.” Gabe greeted Clementine as she and his uncle approached the stairwell entrance.</p><p>Clementine crossed her arms. Now that they had stopped walking, she stood apart from Javier. Clearly, she’s still pissed. “Hey.” Her kurt greeting made Gabe’s face falter with insecurity.</p><p>“You all good?” Ava asked.</p><p>“Yeah, we're all set.” Javier nodded. They got his arm stitched up, and Lingard proved to be useless for their goals after all. </p><p>Clementine huffed and looked off to the side. How could they be ‘all set’ when she still didn’t know where the ranch was?</p><p>“Great.” Ava nodded and turned to head down the stairs. “Let’s roll.”</p>
<hr/><p>Under the cover of night, the group was able to return to Eleanor’s apartment with their spoils without another incident with the guards. Ava knew her way through these streets, and she proved to be a valuable asset. Javier could see why David liked her.</p><p>“Javi! You're back!” Tripp greeted him as the group entered the apartment, it was then he noticed the cut. “Oh, hell, you okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, it looks worse than it is. Don't worry about it.” Javier shrugged and placed a duffle bag on the counter.</p><p>Eleanor gestured with her head over to the bedroom. “Kate's lying down in the other room for a bit.”</p><p>Tripp looked over the bags of weapons now placed on Eleanor’s counters. “So you got the guns, huh?”</p><p>“We got 'em, alright.” Gabe grinned, quite proud of himself. He took guns out of the bag and passed them around to their group. “One for you, and one for you…” He put two in the hands of Tripp and Eleanor, the woman smiled a bit awkwardly but took it. She wasn’t a fighter. “I saved this one for you.” Gabe offered a pistol to Clem, he smiled at her in a nervous adolescent way.</p><p>“No, I've already got one.” Clementine held up the gun she found for herself at the armoury. Seeing his face falter a bit, she realized she dismissed him a little too quickly, and felt guilty for it. “Actually, it wouldn't hurt to have another.” She took the gun and smiled back. “Thanks.”</p><p>“Conrad?” Javier asked the man standing off to the side of the living room. Why had he not taken a gun yet?</p><p>“Nah, I'm--I'm cool.” Conrad declined the weapon, he still felt a bit awkward about the Gabe situation back in the sewers. He also seemed a bit...distant at the moment.</p><p>Tripp put the gun in the waistband of his jeans. “What took you so long?”</p><p>“We went to see Doctor Lingard.” Javier answered, it hadn’t originally been a part of the plan and the hospital detour kept them back a while.</p><p>“At night? I'm kind of surprised he was sober…” Eleanor had only known the doctor a few days, but his self medication habits were too obvious to not see. “It's gotta be a stressful job--looking after an entire community. Can't say I approve of the way he blows off steam, though.” Wasting all that medicine…</p><p>“The guy's clearly an addict. He was destroyed when we got there.” Javier sighed, he was more sympathetic to the doctor’s problem than the others it seemed. He knew what it was like, in a way. He wouldn’t say that his gambling ever got to that point, but after being booted from the league it had to be a wake up call. His mother made him go to meetings...and they made him know addiction in a different light.</p><p>There was a solemn, quiet beat in their conversation, but Eleanor spoke up again. “It would be sad, if it wasn't so reckless.” To play with his own life like that? And the lives of all those he was responsible for? Eleanor just couldn’t justify it.</p><p>“It's pathetic, is what it is.” Clementine spat. Growing up in a world like this, she had very little patience for those who didn’t have the strength to live nor kill themselves. No patience for those who made their presence a burden to others.</p><p>“Clearly, it's taken a toll on him.” Javier gets that Clementine is still pissed and hardened by this all, but he wanted to get her to be more empathetic and gentle. Lest she grow up to be a monster as well. “You might wanna try sympathizing with the guy instead of trashing him.”</p><p>“You're right. I'm sorry.” Eleanor uncrossed her arms feeling guilty. She was a nurse, she should know better than to judge someone for an illness.</p><p>“Everyone's got their vices. Doesn't make 'em a bad person.” Tripp chimed in. He also knew this well. In a way, if this apocalypse hadn’t happened, he would have been dead by now already…</p><p>With what needed to be said, Javi walked up to Clem. With his voice lowered a bit, he gestured to the bedroom with his head. “Why don't you go talk to Kate, okay?”</p><p>“Okay.” Clementine went to the bedroom, and hoped to find Kate awake to get some answers.</p><p>With the room now quiet and the guns acquired, Javier knew they needed to start forming their plan. “The sun will be rising in a few hours. Joan's people are gonna know we're holed up here, and they're gonna come looking for us. All of us.”</p><p>“Ah, for fuck's sake!” Tripp exclaimed.</p><p>Eleanor tried to soften the stress, “Maybe it's not as bad as we think!”</p><p>“Fucking figures.” Ava spat.</p><p>“And there's no going anywhere with those <em>things</em> blocking our exit.” Tripp pointed at the herd outside the window.</p><p>“They like me! That has to help somehow.” Eleanor put her hands on her chest. She seemed almost defensive of the New Frontier...she had for a while now.</p><p>“Just 'cause they like you doesn't mean they're gonna like the rest of us!” Tripp yelled, causing Eleanor to bite the inside of her lip.</p><p>“We're sitting ducks up here!” Ava shouted.</p><p>“We can't just wait around here to get shot, that's for damn sure.” Tripp and Ava rolled back their worries.</p><p>“We have to help my dad.” Gabe said, joining in.</p><p>Javier tried to set up a bit of a time frame for their action, “We've still got time to get in front of this before Joan can do anything.”</p><p>Gabe was pumped up now. “Yeah!”</p><p>Javier looked to the rest of the group to try to gain their attention back. “I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna sit around and wait for her to find us.”</p><p>“I'm liking the cut of your jib, Javi.” Tripp nodded and grinned, but crossed his arms in contention. “We can't just cut and run--not with the herd out there. Like it or not, we're fuckin' stuck in Richmond. How the fuck are we gonna put the brakes on this thing?”</p><p>“Joan and her people are going to be at the square, right? We need to bring the fight to them.” Ava said. Since she was the one closest to New Frontier leadership, the others listened. Her plans may be the best.</p><p>Tripp looked to Ava, “We go after Joan, our problems are solved.”</p><p>Eleanor shook her head in ardent disapproval. “I don’t like this… How would you even go about that?”</p><p>“It's a good question.” Ava put a hand to her chin to think. “Joan'll probably have a full security detail with her. She'll be insulated--from us and from anybody in Richmond who doesn't agree with what she's doing.”</p><p>“If there are good people left in Richmond who are against what Joan's doing, we need to ask them for their help. If we can talk to the people at the trial--present the case to everyone in Richmond--we might not have to do this on our own. We light the match, the people do the rest.” Javier added on.</p><p>“After we take Joan out, we're gonna need some way out of this mess.” Tripp said. “I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not much of a runner.”</p><p>“We've got a truck - a big one - that we used to use for walker defense. It's a little busted up, but it's way better than nothing.” Ava said. After all this, she kinda wanted to get the fuck out of here too. She’d leave with David before staying with any of these other New Frontier assholes.</p><p>“People are gonna be patrolling these streets, looking for us. How far away is this truck?” Tripp asked.</p><p>“I'll show you.” Ava walked up to the window and looked out at the city, then pointed out a warehouse a couple blocks away. “We've been expanding, pushing out further - making the safe zone even bigger. Can't promise you they've cleared all the walkers yet, but... That's where the truck's parked.”</p><p>“I could spit and hit it!” Tripp enthused.</p><p>“We steal that thing, nothing'll be able to stop us.” Ava looked to Javier with a sure grin. This plan might be coming together.</p><p>“Steal what?” Kate asked. She was standing across the room just outside the bedroom door, Clementine beside her.</p><p>Javier perked up at seeing her. “Hey!”</p><p>“Jesus, Javi! Is that blood on your shirt?” Kate’s eyes went wide and she stepped forward to him. “You said it wasn't that bad!”</p><p>“It isn't.” Clementine smirked and crossed her arms and shared a smug look up to him.</p><p>“It's not deep, it's just bled a lot.” Javier shrugged. “Besides, it's already taken care of, Clementine sewed me up back at the doctor's.”</p><p>“You still didn't answer my question, what happened?” Kate came closer and took his bicep into her hands carefully.</p><p>“He got stabbed, okay? By one of the guards.” Gabe blurted out, his guilt was manifested into lashing out.</p><p>“Thought you knew what you were doing.” Javier looked over at Clementine as Kate examined his stitches.</p><p>Clementine shrugged. “You're still alive, aren't you?</p><p>“Eleanor?” Kate pulled her hands away. “Can you take a look at this?”</p><p>Eleanor came over and inspected the wound herself. “As long as he keeps it clean, it should be okay.”</p><p>“Would you guys stop making such a big deal about it? It happened, it's over. Move on, already!” Gabe blurted again, embarrassed of what he did.</p><p>“I'm just trying to make sure he's okay, Gabe.” Kate said.</p><p>“What we need to be talking about is the plan. Oh, I have a bunch of ideas. I wanna be the one to go after Dad. Just gimme a gun and I'll do whatever! I know the town. I know what Dad's gonna be thinking.” Gabe was excited, and while his enthusiasm was welcome he was getting a bit too ahead of himself.</p><p>“That's not a bad place to start, and it's good you wanna help. We've got to talk it through before we settle on anything. You’re getting ahead of yourself” Javier talked him down.</p><p>“Just as long as I get to come along.” Gabe insisted.</p><p>Tripp shook his head, “Not that I don't appreciate the can-do attitude, but...I don't know if you're invited, little man.”</p><p>“I think I agree with Tripp.” Kate said; she wouldn’t let Gabe out into this, he was just a kid.</p><p>“Oh, this is bullshit! I'm not staying behind!” Gabe didn’t get it. He wanted to start pulling his weight and being a man. This was his <em>father</em> at stake.</p><p>“Gabe. Take a breath.” Javier said.</p><p>“He's my dad! I'm <em>going.”</em></p><p>“It's going to be dangerous out there, and I don't want anyone else getting hurt.” Kate disagreed with his insistence. God, why did he have to be so much like his father?</p><p>“If we get to save Dad, then getting hurt is worth it. It's worth dying for!” Gabe said, his passion and loyalty much like David’s. “This is more important to me than anyone else. I've got a gun, and I know how to use it.”</p><p>“Could you do me a favor and stop showing off for everybody!” Javier raised his voice. “You're tough, okay? You can handle a lotta shit. You don't have to prove it all the goddamn time.” Javier talked his nephew down, and Gabe furrowed his brows and hung his head in shame.</p><p>“Nobody here is gonna let you be a martyr, Gabe.” His uncle continued. “Your life is precious.</p><p>There was a tense pause between them all, and in that moment Conrad took his chance to speak. “Before you all make any decisions about who's coming and who's staying and who's gonna do what... I just wanted to say, I'm sitting this one out.”</p><p>Tripp looked over to his friend in confusion, “What are you talking about, Conrad?”</p><p>“I'm sorry about David. I am. I just don't particularly care what happens to the folks here in Richmond. It's not my community, not my problem.” Conrad swirled the drink of water in his hand. Francine...Francine was gone, <em>she</em> was who he cared about. The man who killed her is dead now, he got his revenge. Now he wanted to mourn. “I got what I came here for. That's not the kinda man I wanna be. Just gotta figure it out...who the new Conrad is.”</p><p>“Alright. I get it.” Javier wouldn’t fight Conrad on this. “You came with us far enough.”</p><p>Conrad nodded solemnly. He knew what they were fighting for, and he wanted them to make it. But he just couldn’t do this anymore. “I see what you're doing, but...I just can't take the risk. I'm gonna get some things together, and find some place to wait out the herd. I'll attract less attention if I'm by myself.”</p><p>“Conrad, man.” Tripp took a step toward his friend, this man he had known for years. Tripp was sad to see him go, and worried if this is the last time he’ll see him.</p><p>“Hey, no goodbyes.” Conrad hugged Tripp. “I'll see you on the other side, brother.”</p><p>“I’ll see you.” Tripp hugged back.</p><p>Once he pulled away from Tripp, Eleanor came forward to hug him too. “Stay safe out there, Conrad.”</p><p>With that, Conrad walked to the door. Only one look behind to the rest, before he left the apartment. There was only a short silence after the door was shut.</p><p>“Okay, so…” Eleanor faced Tripp and Javier. “You want to <em>dive-bomb</em><br/>
After a brief scrape with some New Frontier guards, Clementine and the Garcías had hotwired the paddywagon truck and took off. After driving closer to the town square, they then parked the car in an alley and sat there through the rest of the night. Just waiting for Ava to some over the radio and tell them when the plan should start.</p><p>The early morning sunlight glowed through the windshield, marking the end of another sleepless night. How long had it been now since this all started? Javier couldn’t remember...it was all so fresh, yet confused with his sleep deprived and adrenaline soaked brain. “The square is a couple of blocks away. This is a good place to wait.” Javier parked the car, but left the engine running.</p><p>“Do we have enough gas?” Kate asked from the passenger seat.</p><p>“I'm not about to turn the engine off again.” Javier’s fingers still felt singed from the hotwiring.</p><p>There was a pause, anxiety drummed up within Kate. “What now?”</p><p>“We wait for Ava to call us on the walkie.”</p><p>“So... Nothing for us to do but sit and watch the sun come up.” Kate said, she looked out the window to see the run rise’s glow as a background to burned out and collapsed buildings.</p><p>From the benches in the back, Clementine and Gabe’s conversation could be heard. “Well, I know we've got something important to do.” Gabe pulled his card deck from his coat pocket. “I'm teaching you to play euchre.”</p><p>Clementine laughed, “That's not a real thing.”</p><p>“It's a card game! Come on. It's fun.” Gabe dealt the cards.</p><p>“Where'd you even get this?” Clementine asked. Cards were valuable these days, especially full decks.</p><p>“My dad.” Gabe said, “Might take a while to recap, 'cause the rules are kinda obscure.”</p><p>Clementine shrugged, “Not surprising, considering I've never even played the game.”</p><p>Kate smiled, and tilted her head back to Javi. “It's nice to be driving around with a couple kids in the backseat again. Really takes you back, doesn't it? Just you, and me, and Gabe...and Mari. Better times.”</p><p>“You're right. This is nice.” Javier sadly smiled, “Like if I just close my eyes, we're right back where we were. All of us, together.”</p><p>“Do what I do: try to think about the nice stuff. Not...everything that happened after.” Kate looked to her hands.</p><p>“It hurts too much to think about. Even now. It's like I can't get Mari out of my head sometimes. Her voice... How smart she was... How kind.” It had only been a few days, but the pain of losing her felt like it aged decades and spanned lifetimes. It had only been a few days, and still new parts of grief revealed themselves in the quiet moments, when he realized another thing he could never do with Mariana again. Another thing he would never get to say to her, or something he’d never get to hear in her voice.</p><p>“I understand.” In these few days, Kate hadn’t been on her feet as much. She had been able to process this loss a little more, the ache is more dulled than it was at first. Javier’s must still be stabbing.</p><p>“Ha! Gotcha!” Gabe exclaimed from the backseat, he held up a card in victory.</p><p>“Oh, come on!” Clementine jokingly complained, “That's not even a good rule!”</p><p>“Still gotcha.” Gabe teased.</p><p>Kate let out a soft chuckle and looked back at Javi. “Guess he's stopped playing it cool with her.”</p><p>Javier raised an eyebrow, “Hm?”</p><p>“Uh, in case you haven't noticed, he’s got a little crush on Clementine.” Kate flashed a gesturing glance back to her stepson. “He <em>like-likes</em> her, you get it?”</p><p>Javier opened his eyes a bit in surprise, but after thinking for a moment it really wasn’t much of a shock. Clementine was the first girl his age they had come across in a long time. “I hope it works out for them. I really do. They're good for each other. I think.” Javier could see it, Clementine seemed to like Gabe enough to put up with him, and they might be good influences on one another. Thugh, Javier was still apprehensive, he wanted Gabe to experience something <em>normal.</em></p><p>“Think their first official date will be target practice?” Kate joked, though she felt that Clementine could teach Gabe some important things for survival.</p><p>Javier chuckled, “Then skinning and eating a wild animal.”</p><p>“Ah, young love.” Kate jokingly sighed, causing both adults to laugh.</p><p>“You're getting the hang of this already.” Gabe sounded impressed.</p><p>Clementine pulled another card, “Yes!”</p><p>“You're <em>kidding.”</em></p><p>“Haha.” Clementine waved her card to tease him. “Can't help but be a natural-born winner.”</p><p>“You're cheating!” Gabe accused, though he didn’t seem serious.</p><p>“Prove it!”</p><p>Kate sighed in sad nostalgia. “It's so...normal. You know? Like, as crazy as things get, as terrible and tragic and just plain stupid... There's nothing more wonderfully ordinary as two kids falling for each other. Not that they're there yet. But to feel something that intensely for another person? Kinda like the best drug there is. Well, one of the best drugs.”</p><p>“Hey, the falling in love is the easy part.” Javier shook his head. As his father called him once, he was ‘fool hearted.’ He had always gotten infatuated too easily, especially for people he shouldn’t. He fell in love with people he couldn’t keep a hold of. Best friends, teammates...his sister in law.</p><p>“It's the staying in love part that'll really mess you up.” Kate lamented. She had a different problem from Javier...she didn’t know when to let go. Things with David...they weren’t good. They had some really good times, and some really, really fucking bad ones. It took her too long to realize that those can’t balance each other out. She wanted to leave him for a long time, but what would happen to the kids? She stayed for them. And she stayed to take care of David’s father when he got sick. And she stayed for...for Javi.</p><p>Javier nodded, then tried to lighten the mood. “When I was his age and I liked a girl, I was a fucking wreck. Sweaty palms, and stomachaches, and-”</p><p>“Boners behind math books? We knew. Every time, we knew.”</p><p>“See?” Javier laughed, “Hell on earth.”</p><p>“It's unfair.” Kate sighed. “That's all I'm saying. That they're feeling what they're feeling right now, and... When that sun gets a little higher, it's right back to the fight. I just wish...he could've had a childhood. You know? I wish I could have given him that. Him and Mari both. They deserved better than this. Better than what got handed to them.”</p><p>“That's why we're doing this thing, right? So he can have a better life after everything's said and done?” That’s what Javier was doing this for. To right the wrongs done to them, and give them a home once it was all over.</p><p>“You're right. I know you're right.” Kate looked out the windshield in front of them. “I hope you know, Javi... Having you there with me, right by my side, all this time... That's what made the difference. You're so sure of...what you're doing all this for. You didn't run away. You could have. But you didn't.”</p><p>Javier held onto the steering wheel again, and looked over to her. “I think that's just...who I am, you know?” It wasn’t always. When he was young and reckless, living life as an athlete, all he did was think about himself and did whatever he wanted. He had changed in all this, and he was glad for it. “Who I am now, at least. I'm here so I can set an example for people - for Gabe, especially. Someone to be proud of. Someone who...sticks around.” Someone his father would be proud of. What David always wanted him to be.</p><p>“I get it.” Kate had seen Javier change as well. She knew him for all those years ago, she’d seen him grow in this hell the past seven years. He’s always been kind, but she’s seen a new side of him take form. Strong, dependable. And she couldn't ignore how she’d changed as well. How Javier had changed her.</p><p>Another familiar ache took hold of her heart. The yearning she had long forced down in all of this. It had been there for years, and after everything that happened, with their little world imploding and Mariana dying, she couldn’t hold it down anymore. Something had to give. “There is no graceful way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it: I know we've had <em>moments,</em> you and I. And they're always...a little hot, and a little <em>confusing,</em> and...maybe some of them haven't meant anything at all, but... Before whatever happens tomorrow <em>happens,</em> I need you to know... Whatever this <em>thing</em> is between us--I want to give it a chance. And I know the fact that David is back in our lives now makes this whole thing a little more...complicated, but... Do you feel the same way? I'd really like to know.” She held her breath, but with no response she looked away. “Maybe I should have stayed quiet…”</p><p>Javier felt that same yearning. And he knew what he had to do. He looked to Kate, and with his face full of guilt and sympathy, he apologized.. “I'm sorry, Kate, I-”</p><p>“Oh, god…” Embarrassment and hurt flushed over her, she pulled her braid to reel it back.</p><p>“I just...can't see it, between us...” Romance was too far away for Javier, too intangible. With all that happened, at a time like this, he couldn’t process his feelings, nor that they were returned. </p><p>“So, all those times you said stuff...I was just imagining it?” Kate asked. “Years together, on the road. The looks... The hints of something more... You're saying, none of that meant what I thought it did?”</p><p>“No I didn’t-” Javier stuttered, “Kate… David's not just some guy in our lives. He's my brother. I don't see him being okay with this, <em>ever.</em> I can't do that to him.” Javier lost David before, and he couldn’t lose anyone else. He had let David down too many times before, and he wouldn’t let it happen again. David would never forgive him.</p><p>“So you're saying you <em>do</em> feel something.” Her voice held hope.</p><p>“It doesn't matter, Kate.” Javier sighed, this hurt too much. To deny her what they both wanted. “It can't go anywhere.”</p><p>“No. No! I don't believe it.” Kate refused. “You felt something, Javi. I know you did! Back in the junkyard, you kissed me. <em>You</em> kissed <em>me,</em> not the other way around! And as soon as you got released from the cell, what was the first thing you said to me? You told me how much you <em>missed</em> me.” Kate pinched her brows together in spite, “But as soon as David was back in the picture, you got all weird. Fuck that, and fuck you! You fucking coward!”</p><p>Kate slapped Javier and turned away from him. From the back seat, Gabe and Clementine go wide-eyed and quiet. They hadn’t heard what just happened.</p><p>“Kate, come on!” Javier put a hand to his cheek. This was something he <em>really</em> couldn’t deal with right now.</p><p>“Don't talk to me-” Kate crossed her arms and turned her whole body towards the passenger door. “Not anymore.”</p><p>Before a beat could allow them to breathe, a voice crackled over the radio. <em>“Javi! It's an execution over here. She's planning to hang David, in front of the whole crowd! You've gotta get over here now! Don't bring the truck. If they see it, they'll kill him right away. If you can just get into the square-</em> Before Ava could finish what she needed to say, the radio cut out.</p><p>“Shit.” Javier grabbed the radio into his hand. “We've gotta get over there. Now!”</p><p>Javier and the kids hopped out of the truck, and while Clementine slammed the door, Kate spoke. “I'm going to hang back here, with the truck.” Her attitude was sour, but at least she was still focused on the plan.</p><p>“Keep the walkie close by?” Javier handed the device to Kate as she shifted to the driver’s seat. “We'll tell you as soon as we've got David. Then, you can drive into the square and pick us up.”</p><p>Kate nodded. Right now she just needed to sulk, and stay out of the way.</p><p>“Just...stay out of sight. We'll be in touch as soon as we can.” Javier then turned around to speak to the kids.</p><p>“Nothing else from Ava?” Gabe asked.</p><p>“Nope.” Javier shook his head. “And it sounds like a crowd out there.”</p><p>“It sounded like Ava got cut off by something...or somebody.” Clementine said, she paused for a second to think about their next steps. “Wish we had some idea of what we're heading into. Like, is the whole plan shot? Or did she just have a little setback? I hate not knowing…”</p><p>“Could be Tripp and Eleanor had second thoughts about this whole thing. It's not their fight.” Javier thought that perhaps they ditched too, just like Conrad.</p><p>Clementine shrugged, but that didn’t seem likely to her. “Maybe…”</p><p>“No way!” Gabe protested. “They wouldn't have done that to us.”</p><p>“You never know with some people.” Clementine said. Bonnie and Mike came to her mind…</p><p>“We're not gonna know what went wrong until we actually <em>do</em> this thing. So let's do it, already.” Gabe was impatient, as anyone would be awaiting the plan to stop their father’s execution.</p><p>“You ready?” Javier asked the kids.</p><p>Clementine gave a sure but grave nod.</p><p>“Ready as I'm gonna be.”</p><p>Javier checked his gun for bullets, then walking towards the sidewalk. “Glad to hear it.”</p>
<hr/><p>The early morning air of the town square is crisp, but in its sharpness is not the chirps of birds, but the murmurings of the crowd and Joan’s commanding voice coming through. Javier, Gabe, and Clementine infiltrated the crowd surrounding the platform with ease, attempting to draw little attention to themselves as they came close enough to see.</p><p>It was possibly their worst predictions come to light. Joan was on stage with Clint behind her, addressing the crowd, and next to her for the presentation was the makeshift gallows. David and Luke stood on stools with nooses around their necks and hands tied behind their backs. Luke stood stiff and straight up, even now with the noose only caressing his skin he felt like he could barely breathe. But David moved in spite of his restraints, he looked like a pitbull on a leash just waiting for his moment to attack.</p><p>“I don't know about the rest of you, but- I didn't want to be here today.” Joan yelled out to address the crowd. “The people of Richmond deserve to be safe! David García has to be punished for what he's done!”</p><p>“Shit…” Javier cussed quietly under his breath at the sight.</p><p>“We can't wait for the others, can we?” Gabe said.</p><p>“For years now, Richmond has been governed by one simple principle: strong council, strong community. But unfortunately, the actions of two of the members of that council - most gravely our security guard David García - have put us all in danger.” Joan continued on, then interrupted.</p><p>“She's lying to all of you!” David shouted out to the crowd.</p><p>“David’s right!” Luke looked to them, the people of Richmond who trusted him. “Look at what’s happening!”</p><p>“I'm sorry to have to show you this.” Joan looked to the crowd once again, “Truly, I am, but you all need to see! Just look what they’ve done!” Joan gestured her arm across the stage to a Frontier soldier, wordlessly ordering them to remove a sheet, revealing the corpse of Badger.</p><p>Joan pointed to David, “He murdered this man in cold blood! His own subordinate, his <em>friend.</em> Is this who we want in charge? Someone this reckless?! This cruel? Not if I have anything to do with it!”</p><p>Gabe whispered loudly to his uncle, “Can't believe this is really happening. She's gonna kill them! She can't do this to Dad... He's kept them safe!”</p><p>“She’s good at turning everyone against them.” Clementine looked up at Luke once more, but her old friend hadn’t spotted her in the crowd yet. <em>Please,</em> she thought. Despite still feeling betrayed by his actions, she couldn’t lose him.</p><p>“Try to keep your cool,” Javier said to the kids, “Joan's smart, but we're smarter. We just have to be careful.”</p><p>“We can't screw this up, Javi.” Gabe looked to his uncle. There was fear and desperation in those brown eyes.</p><p>“Javier! I'd heard you were planning to crash our little party.” The jig was up, Joan had spotted them in the crowd. “Why don't you come on up here? Show your face to everyone. I'm sure these people would like to hear what you have to say. Don't make me ask twice!”</p><p>“Happy to!” Javier announced himself loudly. “Been waiting for this all day…”</p><p>“Then I'll try not to disappoint you!” With a sweeping hand motion, Joan had the crowd part around Javier as the man came forward to face her. “I had a very interesting conversation with your friend Eleanor last night,” Joan smiles, it looked so sickeningly insincere. “I do have to thank you for bringing her back to me. It has been so <em>long</em> since I’ve seen my daughter.”</p><p>There’s a sharp feeling of shock and betrayal between the dissenters. Javier look over to the side to stare at Eleanor close to the stage, but the woman put a hand to her face to hide herself.</p><p>Joan looked down to her daughter to reveal her more to the crowd, “Isn't that right, Eleanor?”</p><p>“That's...that's right.” The impossible position she had been in these last few days, the secret to her sudden allegiance to the New Frontier, had all now been revealed in a matter of seconds. Now, she only hoped that her mother would spare those she cared for…</p><p>“She said you came here because you wanted to save your brother. Admirable...almost.” Joan’s expression creased, “She said you were coming here today to take me out! Add to your total. Don't know how you thought you were going to pull it off. Considering it's all of us...against the three of you. But I guess hope springs eternal.”</p><p>Javier scowled at Eleanor, then passes it to Joan. “And that's <em>exactly</em> what I'm planning to do.”</p><p>“Appreciate the honesty. Which makes this so much harder…” Joan tutted, then looked to the crowd once more. “This community deserves justice, and they're gonna get it one way or the other!”</p><p>With another gesture to the guards, Frontier soldiers came out with two other prisoners. Tripp and Ava were bound with their hands behind their backs, and forced down to their knees on the stage. Eleanor gasped, no, she didn’t plan for <em>this.</em></p><p>“Get away from me!” Tripp yelled at the guards. It was then he caught a look at Eleanor. The woman he unrequitedly loved, the woman who betrayed him.</p><p>Ava yelled to the soldiers, former inferiors of hers, “You're making a mistake!”</p><p>“Ava!” David yelled for his friend.</p><p>“Oh, no…” Clementine shook her head. This was all going to shit so much faster than she thought.</p><p>“They had them this whole time!” Gabe yelled, their plan was falling apart.</p><p>“David wanted to tear this whole place down. He and Luke told his people where to find our gun supply, and sure enough, they picked us clean. You really thought you could ride into town and stage a coup? With our own damn weapons? Something like that... I can't just let it go.” Joan put her hands on her hips, and looked over at Tripp and Ava. “You've put me in a no-win situation here! So I'm gonna do the same thing to you. Both of them deserve to die for their crimes. However, Javi -I'll let you spare one of them. Just one.” Joan offered her impossible choice. No matter who Javier chose, it would split the dissenters to pieces.</p><p>“No!” Ava and Tripp yelled in unison, though Tripp threw in a swear.</p><p>David shook his head ardently, “Joan, don't!”</p><p>“Tripp! Mom, no!” Eleanor looked between the two, hands in her hair and shocked tears in her eyes.</p><p>“Is this the kind of leadership you've got in store for Richmond? Torturing people with your stupid <em>power games?”</em> Javier spat.</p><p>The crowd grew increasingly confused and alarmed, their muttering to one another in a heightened intensity.</p><p>“Justice isn't a game, Javi. It's about time you learned that.”</p><p>“If you're gonna punish anyone, it should be me, not them.” Javier pointed to his chest.</p><p>Joan shook her head. “So ready to sacrifice yourself for others. Don't worry, Javi. I'm not through with you yet.”</p><p>“Joan, are you sure about this?” Clint finally spoke up on his reservations. “We never agreed to killing all these people!” He flashed a glance to David and Luke. This <em>wasn’t</em> the process, this <em>wasn’t</em> what was supposed to happen.</p><p>Joan ignored Clint. “It's really up to Javi, isn't it? All eyes are on you. Maybe this will help you make up your mind... Boys?”</p><p>Frontier soldiers surrounded Gabe, Clementine, and Javier with their guns.</p><p>“Come on, Javi. Who's it going to be? Your friend... Or your brother's lieutenant?” Joan said. Guns were pointed to Ava and Tripp’s heads.</p><p>“Oh, come on!” Tripp shouted, “This is fuckin' stupid!”</p><p>“You can't be serious!” Ava sneered at the woman, “Goddamn you, Joan.”</p><p>“Do the right thing, Javi!” Tripp pleaded, though he didn’t know what he was asking for himself.</p><p>“How could you do this?!” Ava yelled again.</p><p>Joan began to countdown, and the pressure mounted on Javier. He knew she wasn’t playing around, he knew that if he didn’t make a choice he might die, or she would kill both. “Tripp has to live.” Javier said. “He’s invaluable.” Of the two on stage, he had known Tripp the longest, and he trusted Tripp the most.</p><p>“Son of a bitch…” Ava cursed under her breath. She shook her head in disbelelief, fuck. This was really it, huh?</p><p>“Javi, what the fuck is wrong with you?!” David shouted, he couldn’t bear to see Ava die, he blinded with anger.</p><p>“You're not making David happy,” Joan commented, “But I respect you for sticking up for your own people!” She looked to the guard and ordered. “Shoot him.”</p><p>“Wait!” Javier shouted in confused alarm, “I said Tripp should live!”</p><p>“You did, but there's something else you need to understand…” Joan dropped her cordial expression, <em>“Betrayal."</em></p><p>“You can't do this!” Eleanor shouted to her mother. <em>”Tripp!”</em> She tried to look at Tripp, but the man peeled his eyes away.</p><p>Tripp scoffed, “Fuckin' figures.” </p><p>“I can do anything I want!” Joan dismissed her daughter’s cries and pleas. She looked back down on Tripp. “You brought this on yourself. Do it.” She ordered the guard, and not even a second later, Tripp was dead.</p><p>“You can't-” Javier was cut off by the shot.</p><p>The bullet went through Tripp’s skull and he crashed face forward onto the stage. There was no final expression, no longing look to the sky or the woman he loved. Just blood, just shock, just another life cut short.</p><p>“No!” Eleanor screamed out a gut-wrenching cry, she folded in on herself in grief, falling to the floor. What had she done?</p><p>“Oh, my god!” Gabe shouted, “They really shot him!”</p><p>Clint watched the blood pour out of the man’s head, and in that moment he snapped out of his passive loyalty. “Oh, goddamn it!”</p><p>“Now,” she turned to David and Luke, “It's your turn.”</p><p>Javier tried to take a step forward to stop this, but the New Frontier drew their weapons. Clementine, Gabe, and Javi all put their hands up, hoping it wasn’t in complete defeat.</p><p>“I can't believe this! This isn't how we do things. This is madness!” Clint spoke up.</p><p>“Stop her, Clint!” Luke shouted, “This has gone <em>far enough!”</em></p><p>“You're <em>pathetic,</em> Clint!” Javier sneered, “We trusted the ‘process,’ and look where we are!”</p><p>“Think about this, Javi. You know what's gonna happen here. You ready for that?” Joan threatened once more.</p><p>“We don't <em>murder</em> in Richmond, we <em>exile.”</em> Clint stood up to Joan. “That's how we've always done things.” He looked at Javier, trying to solve this. “How about you take David and the rest of your people and just get the hell out? Go far away from Richmond, and then whatever you do is up to you.” Clint knew he couldn’t take down Joan, but he just didn’t want to see more carnage befall them.</p><p>“I'm sure the herd outside would like that.” Joan crossed her arms triumphantly.</p><p>“She thinks she's sending us out there to die!” Gabriel yelled.</p><p>Clementine furrowed her brows, “She's <em>counting</em> on it.”</p><p>“Everybody, put your guns away!” Clint waved to the guards, “We're gonna handle this peacefully.” The guards listened to his orders, and as they lowered their guns Javier and the kids lowered their hands.</p><p>“Don't listen to them, Javi! They're fucking butchers, all of 'em!” David raved, his anger verging on rabid. “Shoot that bitch! Take her out! She deserves it! If you don't do it, I fucking will! Let me outta here! I'll tear her apart!”</p><p>“Go to hell, Joan!” Javier raised his gun, but not by his brother’s wishes. It was his own will that had him pull the trigger, shooting her straight in the eye. And for the second time that morning, a body fell to the stage with a bullet through the head.</p><p>The chaos was instant, the whole crowd went insane and started running in every which direction, the soldiers came after them immediately. A Frontier soldier kicked the stools out from under David and Luke, and the two men started hanging, choking painfully and unable to gasp for air.</p><p>“Dad!”</p><p>
  <em>“Luke!</em>
</p><p>As everyone from the crowd screamed and fled from the bullets now ringing out, Gabe and Clementine ran up on stage to save David and Luke. Both grabbed onto the men’s legs and raised them up, hoping to lift them up enough not to choke.</p><p>Javier attempted to follow, but was blocked by the fleeing crowd. A Frontier soldier fired at him, accidentally killing more Richmond civilians while trying to stop Javi. Javier had to shoot a soldier before climbing up onto the stage. The kids were still raising the men with all their strength trying to keep them from suffocating. Javier climbed up onto a stool and quickly severed both ropes.</p><p>While David hit the ground on his boots and ready to fight, Luke fell to his knees. The noose was off his neck, but he was still choking, he still couldn’t breathe. He still felt underwater and weightless, he still felt freezing with the ice closing in. There were hands all around him, he couldn’t tell them from lurker, Kenny, or Clementine trying to lift him up.</p><p>“You son of a bitch!” David yelled after the soldier that hung him. “Get back here! Gabe, I need you to cover me! We've gotta make things right!”</p><p>“Oh! O-okay…” Gabriel hesitated, and watched his father run off in pursuit. “Dad needs us! We gotta get out there!” Gabe yelled to his uncle.</p><p>“David's not thinking right. What's worth more: his revenge, or your life?”</p><p>“I...think you're right.”</p><p>“David's trained for this.” Javier reassured his nephew, “We're not.”</p><p>“You think he'll be okay out there?”</p><p>“I've got no doubts.”</p><p>Javier and Gabe hide behind a pillar as a solider fired at them. With a couple tries and ducks, Javier was able to shoot him. Once out again, he saw Clementine and Luke trying to take cover in the entrance to an underground tunnel as several soldiers fired at them. Clementine was firing back, but Luke didn’t have his gun, and he didn’t seem to have his composure either.</p><p>“Shit! I've gotta help her!” Javier ran down into the tunnel to help out.</p><p>“I knew David was going to do something to fuck this up. I told you what he was like.” Clementine fired her gun again with Javier beside them. “When are you gonna start believing me?”</p><p>“Ah, shit!” Luke clutched his arm, a bullet grazed it. “Get down!” He pushed on Clementine’s shoulder to make her duck.</p><p>From Javier’s belt, Kate’s voice crackled over the radio. <em>”I hear gunfire! What the hell is going on over there? Are you guys okay? Do you need a pickup? Or do you have things under control?”</em></p><p>Javier pressed down on the walkie button, “Stay away from the square! It's too risky! We'll come to you!”</p><p><em>“I-I can't hear you! It's too loud!”</em> she said back.</p><p>A soldier chucked a smoke bomb down the tunnel, and the group had to leave their hiding place coughing up the smoke, then getting separated. Another soldier came up to Javi and the two started to fight, resulting in Javi wrestling the gun from a soldier. But as the tables were starting to turn in the soldier’s favor, a familiar face came up and shot the man in the head.</p><p>“Well, this is a hell of a situation, isn't it?” Conrad slung his gun back over his shoulder. “Don't look so surprised, okay? Didn't get as far as I thought I would, that's all.”</p><p>“Conrad!” Javier exclaimed, “You have no fucking idea how glad I am to see you!”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Don't get all mushy on me. I really was heading out, but...something made me turn back. Good thing I did, huh?” Conrad chuckled, but as he looked up behind them he saw a truck barreling towards them. “What the hell-” He ran out of the way.</p><p>“It's Kate!” Clementine shouted from the sidewalk. “She's coming for us!”</p><p>As the paddywagon track came speeding at them, a Frontier soldier threw a molotov. It exploded off the side of the truck and veered it off it’s course, now drifting towards Javi. “Oh shit!” Javier jumped out of the way and landed on his stomach, the asphalt scraped his hands. The truck came to an abrupt crash against a barricade, gas started leaking out onto the ground. “Oh god-”</p><p>“Javi!” Clementine yelled. </p><p>Luke looked at the truck, “You've got to get over there before-”</p><p>Luke was cut off by the explosion. The truck burst into flames with a <em>bang,</em> it’s engine shot creating a hole in the barricade.</p><p>“Kate!” Javier shouted, scrambling up from the ground.</p><p>He ran towards her, but as he did his body sank with dread. From the broken barricade came the herd, crawling and stumbling their way in. The one thing keeping Richmond from total collapse was broken. All that was left was the truth of chaos. The lie of control, processes, and justice was an illusion once again shattered. Now, all they could do was rise above.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i wrote this a little fast bc i'm trying to get this fic done before 2021. unfortunately i'm not super confident in the chapters of ANF content bc there's just so much dialogue and characters that i can't do my best emotional and reflective character work, like i did for the other chapters in the middle of the fic. let me know if this is still good tho!</p><p>i promise the sequel will have more of that juicy emotional stuff, i've already got the chapters all planned out and i'll try to finish that one before march (? we'll see)</p><p>obviously the biggest alternate choice in this chapter was if javi tried to save ava, resulting in tripp living. for what i plan for ava's character, it really was best this way. RIP tripp, you were a real one.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Down from the Gallows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahhhhhhh. i finished this? for real? happy hanukka, everyone! enjoy your gift.</p><p>i'd like to give a special shout out to kira (nyilis_studio) for being my editor and co-writing some parts of the last three chapters. she has a jane au y'all should check out :)</p><p>i'd also like to thank @ebullifloof on instagram for drawing fanart of my fic??? that's crazy that that happened.</p><p>thank y'all for the support i received making this, it's nice to know y'all wanted this story as much as i did. keep in mind that i will be writing a sequel, which will have it's first chapter posted on christmas (or right after). in the sequel i plan to write about richmond rebuilding, the war, the garcía family, religious trauma, sexual repression, overcoming trauma, and exploring luke and javier's characters. <del>not to spoil anything, but yes they do get together. it's a slowburn tho.</del> if that sounds up your alley, look out for it and give that a read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Kate!”</em> </p><p>Javier scrambled to his feet and ran towards the exploded truck. Towards Kate. In his path was a walker and a soldier, and without hesitation or stopping he shot at both. One injured, one dead. He gripped his hands on the doorframe of the truck, but before he could look in he had to kick a walker underneath the wheel to death. When he looked up, he saw all he shielded was an empty seat.</p><p>“Kate?! <em>Kate?!</em> Gabe?!” Javier ran back out on the street searching for his family in the chaos. Another walker gripped his ankle, and he shot it before running further from the broken barricade and intruding walkers.</p><p>Once out of the side street, David could hear his brother calling and ran to him. “Over here! Where's Kate?”</p><p>“She's not here,” Javier met up with his brother, “She must've gotten out!”</p><p>“If something's happened to her... If you've gotten her-” David clenched his fist, but his threat faltered. The thought of losing her so soon after getting her back was just too much.<br/>
You better <em>hope</em> she's alive..”</p><p>“Shut up, for once, and help me find her!”</p><p>“What do you think I'm doing?” David followed his brother back out into the square, and they both went out yelling for her.</p><p>Javier looked all around, hands to his mouth to amplify his calls. “Kate!”</p><p>David spotted something familiar, a pink flannel and a braid. “Kate!” David ran close and whipped the woman around too late for him to realize.</p><p>“David, wait!” Javier yelled to his brother, but it was too late to warn him</p><p>David turned the woman around to be faced with a walker, and being caught off guard, it was able to tackle him to the ground. Javier ran up pulling out his bat, but before he could pry it off, Kate bashed the dead look-alike in the head with a crowbar.</p><p>“Don't worry.” Kate huffed at her shocked husband’s face. “I'm sure you had that handled.”</p><p>David smiled with relief, “Kate, I'm so glad you're-”</p><p>“You okay?” Kate looked to Javier, ignoring her husband outright. “Good. Shit, that was too close. This has all gone to hell.”</p><p>“You don't know how happy I am to see you!” Javier sighed in relief.</p><p>“Same. Just glad I found you in time.” She touched his shoulder.</p><p>David narrowed his eyes, then turned away from them to shoot an approaching walker and stomp on its head. “Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”</p><p>Javier and Kate looked at one another, then broke away and regripped their weapons. It wasn’t long before they spotted Clementine and Gabe. The walkers surrounding them struck fear into him. “There’s Gabe and Clem!”</p><p>“Lead the way, Javi.” Kate followed, her and the two brothers killing walkers in their way.</p><p>“Get the knee, like this!” Clementine stepped forward and kicked a walker’s knee, causing it to fall to the ground. She then stabbed it in the head with the utmost causality in her demonstration. Gabe followed her lead, and with only a knife he used her technique to take one out. “Nice!” She cheered.</p><p>Gabe laughed and smiled at her, “Glad I’ve got a great teacher.”</p><p>Luke was stood to the side watching the two kids take out the walkers with a fond and amused smile. It’s a bit disturbing that this is “flirting” to the two of them, but it feels so wonderfully normal that two kids were getting the hots for one another. It’s a bit painful, though, when he remembered that this was a trick Jane taught her...</p><p>“You guys alright?” Javier pants, as he came closer and saw that the kids weren’t in immediate distress he felt both confused and relieved.</p><p>“Just hunky-dory.” Luke nodded over to Javier.</p><p>“Yeah.” Clementine nodded as well.</p><p>“I'm fine!” Gabe said, happy to see the rest of his family was okay.</p><p>“Look at them.” Kate watched as more walkers staggered in, guilt and anxiety boiling harder. “There's so many!</p><p>David spotted a nearby ground-floor door. “We'll be safer inside! Get in!”</p><p>The group escaped to the nearby building and hid out in the stairwell. Once inside they barricaded the door. Luke pulled the door shut and shook the handle to make sure it was sturdy enough to prevent walkers from bursting in, but still open for whoever needed it. “That should hold ‘em for now.”<br/>
“You put up a good fight out there.” David mentioned to his brother.</p><p>“Hey... Dad. I'm glad you made it out,” Gabe responded despondently.</p><p>“Joan's probably looking for us,” Kate worried.</p><p>“No. She isn't,” Gabe seethed, mad at Javi for escalating a situation and causing so many people to die. “Javi <em>shot</em> her.”</p><p>“What?!” Kate looked at Javi for an answer.</p><p>David let out one disdainful chuckle.  “Good riddance.”</p><p>“You were negotiating. I heard you,” Gabe protested. “You didn't have to shoot! Everyone started panicking and shooting. We almost died!”</p><p>“You know what Joan's done: Prescott, Mariana... They're gone because of her. I couldn't trust her to keep her word,” Javi reminded his nephew of Joan’s misdeeds, justifying his own actions.</p><p>“We'll never know now,” Luke solemnly agreed with the boy.</p><p>“Javi's right. Joan had to go. I would have done it too,” David dismissed casually, feeling no remorse to the woman who had betrayed him.</p><p>“That's because you don't mind killing people, do you? I'm tired of being told people had to die! It's bullshit!” Gabe outbursts.</p><p>“Gabe, that's not fair,” Javi attempted at defending his brother. Although, he might be right. He wonders if he might’ve killed Max if he hadn’t spared him. Gabe walks away and stands behind Javi, much to David’s ire.</p><p>“Hey, you do not walk away from me! When someone speaks to you, you stand up and answer them. Even if you don't want to,” his father commanded.</p><p>“David, that's enough. He's not a little boy! He doesn't need that from you,” Javier intervened.</p><p>“What he needs is to learn to keep his opinions to himself until he understands what the hell he's talking about. He needs to be taught the same way I taught you.” David looked at Gabe, softening his expression “I'm just... I'm trying to protect you, Gabe. I lost you once. I won't let it happen again. Okay?”</p><p>“We made it through alive. Let's just be glad about that,” Javi pointed out, looking on the bright side of things.</p><p>“We need to check the other entrances,” David pointed out.</p><p>“Yeah. Make sure we're safe,” Luke concurred.</p><p>“Gabe, wanna help me out?” David asks.</p><p>“Javi?” Gabe looked to his uncle expectantly.</p><p>“Gabriel!” his father barked, more sternly this time. That disciplinary tone of his from his time in the Army rearing its head. </p><p>“Just be careful, buddy. Lot of muertos out there,” Javi imported his nephew to take caution.</p><p>“Gabe and I will watch each other's backs,” David affirmed. Gabe looked back at his uncle hestinantly, still feeling unsure. “Now!” David yelled more urgently.</p><p>“I'll help too,” Clementine offered.</p><p>“O-okay,” Gabe flustered.</p><p>Gabe, Clem, Luke, and David went downstairs, leaving Javier and Kate by themselves, Kate immediately already feeling nervous.</p><p>“Hey, Luke and Clem's with them,” Javi tried to assure Kate. “It's fine.”</p><p>“It's not that. It's- let's just... I'm all over the place. I need to focus on something. Anything. Just need to focus. On… whatever.”</p><p>“Let's see if there's any way we can help.”</p><p>“Do you really think there is?” Kate doubted. “After the damage we've done?”</p><p>“Let's find out. For now, let's just get upstairs. The further we are from these doors, the happier I'll be. I just want to get as much distance between us and the muertos as I can.” Javier turned around inside the stairwell to head up stairs. </p><p>“Yeah… yeah, okay. Let's go.”</p>
<hr/><p>They walked through the hallways of the building, passing by and seeing the fallout of their actions, people desperate and crying after the chaos they caused by murdering Joan and putting a hole in their wall. Loved ones lost.</p><p>“Oh, my god. This is a fucking nightmare,” Kate quietly muttered in horror.</p><p>“Mommy! It's them!” A small child cried out, pointing out Javier and Kate walking by, getting the attention of most of the people in the hallway, some of them staring at them with anger. Others in fear.</p><p>“I'm glad Mariana didn't live to see this. To her what her father's become. To see what...I've done. She'd be just like that little boy: scared that the monsters are coming after her next. She would never trust us again. And I wouldn't blame her.”</p><p>“We'll get through this. Together. We have for years, right?” Javi remained optimistic.</p><p>“But what about these people, Javi? They're not as lucky as we are. How many children become orphans today because of us? How many parents are now childless? I don't know who we are anymore. But it's not the people she knew.”</p><p>They walked through the hallway, and saw someone crying over the body of their loved one.</p><p>“I did this to them,” Kate lamented, feeling guilty about Richmond now suddenly overrun. “That hole is there because of me. This is all my fault.”</p><p>“What happened was an accident,” Javi attempted to reassure her. “ A bad one, but still... You didn't do it on purpose.”</p><p>“But it's still my fault. I can't leave until I make this right. All of this. Let's fix this. As best we can.”</p><p>“Really? I thought you hated this place. All you've tried to do is get out,” Javi reminded her.</p><p>“These people - they didn't ask for this. Just like we didn't ask to lose Mariana. We couldn't do anything about that...but maybe we can do something about this.”</p><p>“Alright, Kate. Let's make things right.”</p><p>“Alright, Kate.” Javier gripped the handle to Eleanor’s apartment, a place they could go to escape this for a moment. “Let’s make things right.”</p><p>They entered the apartment to see Eleanor already there, she was by the couch trying to comfort an inconsolable woman. A soldier, the one that had led them to the quarantine back when they appeared at the gate, back when this all started.</p><p>Eleanor looked up at the open door and saw Javier. An angry knee-jerk impulse pulled at her, like a mallet to the knee. “Tripp was my best friend, Javi! He died because of you! He didn't deserve this.”</p><p>Anger ignited at the sight of her as well, Javier came forward. “You have no one to blame but yourself. Your actions betrayed Tripp. And to think of how much he cared about you…” He sneered at the end of his words, her betrayal had hooked into him and he wanted to pierce back.</p><p>“I never thought it would be like this… I never thought she would do this!” Eleanor cried, but it seemed she already had. Her eyes were puffy, cheeks damp. Eleanor thought she could trust Joan. She thought she could trust her mother, but whatever happened...Eleanor couldn’t recognize her anymore. And now she was dead. “You have to believe that! What's done is done. I don't have to like it, but I can't change it. But you…” Anger reset itself from the grief, “You've got a lot of nerve showing up here, after the bullshit you pulled! You're unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”</p><p>“Oh, I've got a lot of nerve? Everything that happened out there is because of you! This is all your fault for telling Joan!” Javier accused her, then switched to justifying himself. “After everything Joan's done: the looting, the lies, the blood she spilled... Someone had to stop it. I shot her for the good of everyone here. Even you. There was nothing good inside her, and you knew it.”</p><p>Red-hot tears brewed in Eleanor’s eyes. “She was my <em>mother,</em> Javi.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you fucking tell us!?” Javier shouted, “Why did you tell Joan what we were doing?”</p><p>“How was I <em>supposed</em> to tell you!” Eleanor tried to regain her composure and took a deep breath. “I told you I didn't want to leave. You didn't listen. I was trying to triage a bad situation. I had finally found my mom again. And before you guys <em>fucked</em> it all up, their walls <em>worked.</em> It's not only about me. I can actually save lives here - not just stitch them up and hope for the best. With Lingard as he is, these people will <em>die</em> without me, Javi.”</p><p>Kate turned to Javi and spoke to him in a low voice to try to soothe this all over. She trusted Eleanor more, having spent more time with her. The woman only seemed to try to do her best. “I know she...well, fucked us over, but she's trying to help them. She's trying to make something right. That's worth forgiving, right? She's trying. That counts. She fucked up. Everybody does. What you do afterwards is what really matters.”</p><p>Javier listened to Kate, but crossed his arms in compromise. “She's doing a good thing now. But she's got a long way to go before I forgive her.”</p><p>“You're one to talk.” Eleanor spat, she felt thoroughly insulted and despaired. Javier killed her mother, and yet <em>he</em> was the one to forgive <em>her?</em> She turned away from them and back to Fern. “We should try to help. Not everyone here is guilty.”</p><p>Before Kate could agree, Gabe, Clem, Luke, and David entered the apartment.</p><p>“Did you see a little girl out there?” The woman stood to her feet and faced David and Luke, the people she had trusted to lead and keep her family safe. “She was right behind me!” She shout-asked.</p><p>Luke solemnly shook his head and tried to come closer. “Fern, I’m sorry...I hadn’t seen her out there.” Fern’s daughter...had she been caught up in all of this? She was such a sweet kid…</p><p>“First Rufus... And now my baby girl.” The woman’s voice cracked, she brought her hands to her face to cover her eyes.</p><p>“She knew Rufus?” Javier felt a pang of guilt. The man that kidnapped him...Javier shot him in retaliation, never thinking that he may have had a family to run to as well.</p><p>David lowered voice so only Javier could hear, neglecting to change his tone. “He was her husband. Until you shot him in the back.” David looked up at Eleanor, “She's one of my people, Eleanor. What's going on with her?” Fern was a soldier of his, a guard. Not in his close circle of command, but close enough to trust and feel concern for.</p><p>“She'll be alright. She's not bitten or anything.” Eleanor confirmed, “She lost her daughter out there.”</p><p><em>“Ida…</em> I'm so <em>sorry…”</em> Fern cried into her hands, the same hands that let go of Ida’s.</p><p>“Christ.” Javier’s guilt worsened with empathy. “There's nothing worse than losing a child…”</p><p>David nodded, “Tell me about it.” He had lost the same one twice.</p><p>“Give her some privacy,” Eleanor advocated for the woman. “It's the least we can do.”</p><p>“I want to help you.” Kate wanted to ease the pain she caused.</p><p>“Okay, well…” Eleanor was unsure how Kate could help.</p><p>But before either woman could, Fern pulled out her gun and pointed it at Javi.</p><p>Javier raised his hands up, “What the…”</p><p>“We're all fucking dead because of you!” Fern shouted, she clenched the gun tight with both hands.</p><p>“Hey... Easy. We're-”</p><p>Fern cut him off. “You blew a hole in our wall! Got my little girl <em>killed!</em> Got my whole <em>fucking</em> family killed! Richmond was fine until your stupid ass showed up!”</p><p>David attempted to stop his inferior. “Easy, Fern…”</p><p>“We're dead fucking meat, David!” Fern shouted back. “Might as well take out this asshole while I can!” Her palms squeezed the butt of her gun.</p><p>“Fern…” Luke took a step forward with his hands up.</p><p><em>“Shut up!”</em> The woman was blinded by grief.</p><p>“Put it down.” Javier kept his tone even. “You don't want to hurt anyone.”</p><p>“Just like you ‘put it down’ for Joan?!”</p><p>“Stand down.” David commanded. “That's an order.”</p><p>Without a word, Kate stepped in front of the gun, head down hands up.</p><p>“Kate, no!” Javier said to the woman shielding him.</p><p>“Fern. This is all because of me. I caused the explosion. I killed your daughter.” Kate assumed responsibility. “Please...forgive me. It's my fault. Please.” A tense pause worked its way between them, “Please... From a mother to a mother.”</p><p>Fern's hands began to shake and she started to cry. It was too much, it was all just too much. David took this faltering, this moment of vulnerability, to cease the situation. He grabbed her wrist and forcefully broke her arm, taking her gun and pushing her to the ground.</p><p>“No!” Kate yelled.</p><p>Eleanor got on her knees next to the assaulted woman, “Fern! Oh, my god!”</p><p>“Holy shit.” Gabe couldn’t believe what he just saw. “Dad!”</p><p>Kate glared at her husband, <em>“David!!”</em></p><p>“Jesus Fucking Christ!” Luke put his hands on the back of his head.</p><p>David threw the gun to the floor. “You're <em>welcome,</em> Javi.”</p><p>Kate was furious, “That was <em>unacceptable!”</em></p><p>“Did you really need to break her arm?!” Javier yelled, utterly appalled by David’s actions. “That wasn't necessary!”</p><p>“Okay. Don't thank me.” David couldn’t believe these ingrates.</p><p>Weeping on the floor, Fern scooted backward, nearing the gun. David drew his own pistol and aimed for her head.</p><p>“No!” Gabe grabbed his father to try to stop this, but got elbowed backward. The force brought him to the ground as well.</p><p>“David!” Javier shouted.</p><p>“Gabe!” David lowered his gun. “Oh, my god, I-I'm so sorry! That was an accident!”</p><p>“You were going to kill her!” Gabe cried.</p><p>“She was going for her gun!” David justified himself.</p><p>“Look at her!” Gabe pointed to Fern, who was huddled and crying in the corner of the room, clutching her broken arm.</p><p>David looked at Fern, then attempted to apologize to his son. “Gabe, I’m”</p><p>“She can't even stand up!” Gabriel yelled at his father. “What the hell is wrong with you?”</p><p>Javier backed up his nephew. “It was over the line, Gabe. You're right.”</p><p>“Gabe... I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to do that to you... You know that.” David looked up from his son on the floor to see everyone was staring at him, with disgust, disdain, and fear. “Why the hell are you all looking at me that way?”</p><p>“They're just... They're scared, David.” Javier said.</p><p>“Of what?! I'm protecting them!”</p><p>“Then why are you pointing a gun at us?!” Kate yelled, it was then David saw she still had her hands up.</p><p>“So I'm all alone?” David asked, their silence answered him. “Fine, then. You people are on your own.” David put his gun in his waistband, and left the apartment with a door slam.</p><p>“Such an asshole,” Gabriel muttered as he pulled himself off the floor.</p><p>Kate was afraid. She’d seen David like that before, she’d seen many sides to his violence. There’s times when he would explode, and there were times like this where it all felt too decisive. She turned to Javier. “I've seen that look in his eyes before. You should go after him.”</p><p>Javier nodded, as much as Kate had seen of his anger, so had he. And so, he left the room.</p>
<hr/><p>It didn’t take Javier too long to find David. He knew his brother, and he knew that when David wanted to clear his head he did so with fresh air. He would be outside, and given the streets swarmed with <em>muertos,</em> the roof was a better bet. Javier opened the unlocked door, and saw David standing on the very ledge of the high-rise’s roof.</p><p>“David?” Javier’s voice was wary and concerned. “What are you doing?”</p><p>David didn’t answer.</p><p>“That's a long way down. You'll fall fast, but you'll fall, all the same.” Javier crossed the distance from the door to his brother.</p><p>“Come over here.” David glanced behind. “Or are you afraid of me, too? I know the rest of them are. Right?”</p><p>“I won't lie to you, man.” Javier crossed his arms. “You have been acting pretty scary.”</p><p>David looked down and away. “So you are afraid of me.”</p><p>“I've dealt with scarier than you, brother.” Javier shook his head. “You brought it on yourself, David.”</p><p>David let out a short sigh. He held out a hand to his brother. “Come here. Stand with me.</p><p>Javi, wanting to breach the remaining distance between them, physical and emotional, came up and stood on the ledge next to David. Putting his trust on the concrete slab David did, on David himself. Despite telling himself not to look down, Javier did, and he saw the large herd of <em>muertos</em> what looked like ten miles down.</p><p>Javier glazed at his brother beside him, “Uh... Why the hell are you smiling?”</p><p>“See that sewer line over there?” David was staring straight out at the cityscape, he raised his arm to point out what he saw. “Perfect placement for a trench. That hill about a hundred paces west of it... A sniper's wildest dream come true.” David paused, and looked to his brother, hoping he could see what he meant. “I'm a soldier, Javi. I see this landscape like a painter sees a blank canvas. Like how you used to see a baseball diamond. I'm a soldier. This makes sense to me. I was made for this. I thrive in this.”</p><p>“Maybe it's crazy... Sometimes crazy things make sense, if only a little.”</p><p>“I'm surprised you understand.” David looked back out at the city. “When I wasn't deployed, I'd miss being out in the field. Now, that's all I am. Every day. A soldier isn't a husband... Or a father. A soldier is a soldier... Nothing else. Nothing... Nothing at all.” David was nothing else. Nothing else at all.</p><p>“I don't quite buy it.” Javier shook his head. “Call yourself whatever you want... I still see you as my brother. Maybe you are a soldier now... But you were a son, once, and a father.”</p><p>“That was...a long time ago. Maybe too long… That is kind of you to say, Javi. I wish...I wish I had your heart, sometimes.” David looked down at the streets below once more. “I want to change, Javi. I always have.”</p><p>“Really?” Javier asked, “All you ever tried to do was get me to change.”</p><p>“Only because I couldn't bring myself to do it first.” David shook his head softly, “It's the one war I could never win. And I'm wondering why. Is it because I don't know how? Or because it's impossible to change who you really are?” His voice bordered on a vulnerability it rarely came close to.</p><p>“There's a way. There always is, no matter how lost you are. You just have to keep looking until you find it.” Javier found it. He wanted David to as well.</p><p>“Looks pretty messy.”</p><p>“For now…”</p><p>David broke the pause between them with some hope. “Maybe you're right.</p><p>“Maybe.” Javier smiled.</p><p>David looked to his brother again, “Just gotta live long enough to find out.”</p><p>“Just like with anything else.” Javier nodded, with a brief glance back down at the drop below, the instinct to get down reemerged itself. “I did what you asked. So now will you step back?</p><p>“You did. Thanks for that.” David gave a small fraternal smile. “Sure.”</p><p>Together, David and Javi stepped off the ledge, back onto the building. In the next moment, Kate opened the door to the roof. She knew where to find them as well. “I found them!” She said to those in the stairwell behind her. “They're up here! Be careful, Javi. I ran into-”</p><p>From behind her came Clem, Gabe, Luke, and Ava. They all walked onto the roof.</p><p>Clementine gestured to Ava for Javi. “She was still outside when we checked on the entrances.”</p><p>Gabe came up to his uncle, “The <em>muertos</em> were everywhere! We got her inside just in time. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many <em>muertos.</em> It’s awful out there.”</p><p>“That was the right thing to do. Proud of you, buddy.” Javier put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder, then pulled away to speak to Ava. “I'm glad you're okay, Ava. It's great to see you. Look, about earlier…”</p><p>Ava didn’t respond, just pressed her brows together angrily.</p><p>“I guess I owe you an explanation…” Javier scratched the back of his neck. “About what happened on the stage, with Joan and Tripp-”</p><p>“You don't have to say anything to me. Your actions said <em>plenty.</em> I read you loud and clear.” The bald woman crossed her arms. “But go ahead and say whatever you want.”</p><p>“Hey, don't get mad at me! It was a total no-win scenario.” Javi defended himself.</p><p>“Just be glad the situation was what it was. And that she didn't make me pick between you and your brother.” Ava walked off without another word, she wouldn’t have it.</p><p>Kate was looking over the edge of the building, seeing the herd flood in. “There's so many. They're pouring in.”</p><p>Ava looked over with her. “You don't know the half of it. The herd has taken over Richmond. The streets are filled with walkers. With that hole in the wall, this city is fucked. We're not safe here. No one is.”</p><p>Luke looked down below as well, memories of the herd at Howe’s came back to him. “We're sittin' goddamn ducks here. Everyone in town is.”</p><p>“Jesus Christ, what the fuck have we done?” Kate expressed her remorse.</p><p>“So what do we do?!” Gabe desperately asked. “I don't wanna die up here.”</p><p>“None of us do, Gabe.” David said to his son.</p><p>“We gotta stabilize the city.” Javier answered. “Figure out how to make it safer for everyone.” It seemed like the best course of action they could take for everyone’s sakes.</p><p>“There’s some construction vehicles out in a garage, near where y’all got the armored truck.” Luke added to the plan. He and Clint had used the bulldozers before to clear out space for their projects, he had the keys in his pocket.</p><p>“We can use those to stop the <em>muertos,</em> seal the breach, and save Richmond.” Kate added.</p><p>“That's over by the motor pool at the water tower.” David looked towards where the watertower poked out in the skyline, it must have been a couple miles away. “We could use the highway overpass to get to the water tower.”</p><p>All looked to one another, it was the best plan they had. Javier looked for a way to get to the highway, and getting on at ground level didn’t seem like an option. “Come on.” Javie turned and faced the fire escape of the next building over. It was a jump, but it was one he felt they could make. “Let's jump!”</p><p>Javier took a running start and jumped off the roof onto the fire escape. He landed on both feet, and while the structure creaked and shook, it felt strong enough. “Come on! It's an easy jump.”</p><p>One at a time, the rest of the group jumped over as well and climbed up the ladders onto the next roof.</p><p>“Keep your eyes open, stay aware of your surroundings.” David took command and warned everyone. “All of you. Let's move out.”</p><p>Now all walking in the same direction, David took the chance to speak to Javi about something that had been bothering him. “When we found Kate earlier? She walked right past me. Like she didn't even know who I was. Right past me... And right towards you.” He gave his brother a skeptical side eye. “Why was that? Just wondering.”</p><p>“That can only mean one thing. She likes me more.” Javier shrugged at his half-joke.</p><p>David lightly scowled and walked away from his brother. “Not a great time to joke around, Javi.” Little did he know it wasn’t.</p><p>On the streets below, they all could see a New Frontier soldier be devoured by walkers. The one who stabbed Javier back at the armoury. Is it bad to say Javier didn’t feel particularly remorseful?</p><p>David took the chance to instill a lesson in his group. “We need to be careful up here or else the exact same thing will happen to us. Stay sharp, and <em>do not</em> fire your guns. We're gonna be fine. <em>That</em> guy was all alone. We're not.”</p><p>Using a fallen billboard, the group edges across it as a wary bridge onto the highway. Their path has a few scattered walkers, and a herd following distantly behind, but it is mostly a smooth path to where they need to go.</p><p>So far up on such a solid structure overlooking the city, it is hard not to get a sense of great astonishment and loss. Once, not too long ago, people made this structure. Engineers designed it, construction workers built it, and people drove across it everyday. A structure this large and grand was once so commonplace people would consider it an obstacle. At worst, an eyesore. Along with astonishment, there was also great disappointment. Oh how they had squandered it all.</p><p>On the way to the water tower, Javier took the chance to fall back and speak to his nephew. “You okay, bud?”</p><p>Gabe twists his face unsure. “When I was little, Dad used to ask me what I wanted to be when I was a man. And I'd point at him. He always liked that. I thought he was such a great guy. It would always make him smile. Every time.”</p><p>“If he asked you again right now... Would you say the same?” Javier asked, he could sense what Gabe was trying to say. The disappointment he felt in his father.</p><p>“...He hasn't asked me yet.” Gabriel looked off to the side, and saw Kate kill a nearby walker. “‘Never be like your uncle!’ He told me that all the time. ‘Don't be a man who relies on other people to solve your problems... Because then you're not a man at all...’” Shame came over his face. “I used to think he was right. Not anymore, though, Javi.” He looked up at his uncle, the man he trusted so much. “I can only hope I grow up to be like you. So... Here's hoping.”</p><p>Javier grimaced. Had David really said that? To his own son? “I hate to admit it, but... The guy may have had a point. When I was younger, I made mistakes. I made bad choices. I screwed up pretty badly, buddy…” Even with everything that happened, how much Javier had changed, the shame of his mistakes still stung.</p><p>“So what? You bounced back. Dad was wrong.” Gabe said. “You took such good care of me. Now we need to take care of Dad. He's the one that needs our help.” Gabe was so young, so sure he could have the father he remembered if he just dug hard enough. But was that man ever really there?</p><p>The group stopped, the road was blocked. A pile of cars was built up, making it impossible to walk on through. The crash must have been so violent it knocked out the concrete blocks at the sides of the highway. Luckily, or unluckily, there was just enough room on one end to side-step by in the face of a red sedan.</p><p>“We're gonna have to go around the side.” Javier looked at the one-foot strip of asphalt they could walk across.</p><p>Kate shook her head, “There's barely any room.”</p><p>“No time to waste. Come on.” Javier motioned the rest over, and they began to cross over one by one.</p><p>“You know, I didn't think there was much that could scare me anymore.” Kate said as she crossed, staring straight down at the hundred foot drop beneath them. “And yet, here we are. Just goes to show you, life is full of surprises.”</p><p><em>“Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god.”</em> Gabe said to himself, paralyzed by the ground far below.</p><p>“Fear is the coffee of emotions.” Javier said to his nephew to sober him up enough to cross. “ Wakes you up, keeps you sharp. It can be a friend if you let it.”</p><p>Gabe takes Javier’s advice, and soon passes. After him was Clementine and David, and soon the only ones left were Javier, Luke, and Ava. Javier went next, and that was just his luck. The red car behind Javier groaned and pushed forward slightly, causing it to press into the small of back and push him further off the small edge.</p><p>“Grab my hand!” Ava outstretched her hand for Javier to steady himself on. Once he did, she scolded. “You’ve got to be more careful!”</p><p>“I was <em>being-”</em></p><p>Before Javier could talk back, too many things happened in just a second. The car lurching forward caused just enough room for a walker to fall out of a nearby car, and it jumped out at Ava.</p><p>“The fuck?!” Ava shouted as the walker put it’s rotting hands on her and pushed her towards the edge. </p><p>“Ava! Look out-” Luke came forward and pushed the walked off the ledge, but the bastard got a hold of his arm. Luke lost his balance, and slipped off the edge. “Shit!” He was able to hold onto the street with his front half, but he was slipping, and slipping fast.</p><p>“Luke!” Clementine cried from the other side, she couldn’t see over the pile-up but she could hear the panic.</p><p>“Hold on!” Javier shouted, he came back through the other side and reached his hand out, Luke grabbed onto his arm firmly. </p><p>Ava knelt down and thrust her arm out as well, which Luke grabbed onto with his other. Together, Ava and Javier were able to pull Luke up from the edge. </p><p>On stable ground once more, Luke held his chest and panted. He was kneeling with one hand on the ground to steady himself, eyes screwed firmly shut to try to offset his dizziness and panic.  solid asphalt, his eyes screwed tightly shut. “Holy shit- <em>holy fucking shit.”</em></p><p>Javier backs away with his hands on his head. “Fuck! Okay, <em>new rule,</em> we find ways <em>around</em> the ledge.”</p><p>Ava knelt down beside Luke, “Luke, thanks man.” If Luke hadn’t taken out that walker, she might not be here now.</p><p>Luke laughed with his panicked breathing, the woman just pulled him off of a hundred foot drop and she was thanking him? “You kiddin’ me? The thanks is all yours.”</p><p>After a moment to gather themselves once more and finding a way across away from the ledge, the group pushed forward. To their dismay, they were once again faced with a dangerous obstacle. The highway was broken clean across the middle, with the only thing caught between the two sides a crashed helicopter. The horror that caused this accident was an image none wished to think about in much detail.</p><p>“We have to get across.” David stated the obvious. Gabriel, his son, walked over to the chasm to look over the edge. David grabbed his arm to pull him back, but his son just curtly shrugged him away. Did Gabriel no longer trust his touch?</p><p>Javier came closer to the edge as well, and hanging down the middle from a cord was a walker. It was still alive, it’s arms grasping out, but the legs were gone. This creature was split right through its torso. “Holy shit! Chopped right in half…” Javier then inspected the gap in the highway, unfortunately determining there was no piece still connected, no bridge to pass. Near his head, Javi grabbed onto a helicopter blade and swung it slowly in his hands. Well...</p><p>David saw his brother hold onto the blade and look between the two patches of highway. “You're not thinking…”</p><p>“It's that, or go back.” Javier shrugged, it was reluctant yet nervous. </p><p>“You gotta be pulling my leg.” Luke shook his head. After what just happened, he would need to Tarzan over a drop like that?</p><p>David looked to the rest of the group. “We should go lightest to heaviest, that way it won't break on the first swing.”</p><p>“I'll go first, Clem.” Gabe volunteered to go first, just to make sure it was safe for her. The chivalrous thing to do.</p><p>“Get a long run-up, but not too long. If you take too many quick steps, you'll propel yourself upward instead of out. Same with your jump: just run off the end. Don't leap. Try not to-” David over-instructed his son. His concern was masked by his authoritative tone.</p><p>Clementine cut David off. “David, he's got this.”</p><p>“She's right. I do.” Gabe then grabbed the chopper blade, and with a running start he smoothly glided across the divide. One on the ground again, he swung the blade back to the others.</p><p>“Come on, Clem. Your turn.” Javier passed the blade to the girl, who then went across just the same.</p><p>“For the record, I do not trust this thing.” Kate said, gripping onto the blade. “Not at all. It's one thing for the kids to swing across, but us?”</p><p>Javier came closer and leaned over her ear to give her sage advice. “Here's the secret: I guarantee you, you'll be just fine if you follow my advice perfectly.”</p><p>Kate nodded, ready to listen. “Okay.”</p><p>“Whatever you do...don't fall.”</p><p>Kate’s hopeful expression turned unamused, “I'm gonna push you off the side of this thing.”</p><p>Javier laughed, “Well, you can't deny I'm right!”</p><p>Kate went across, followed by Ava, and then to Luke. The last of which kept his eyes shut and breathe held as he went across.</p><p>“Alright, David. You're up.” Javier passed the blade to his brother.</p><p>“You're the little brother... You should go first. You're definitely lighter.” David passed it back with a sarcastic chivalrous grin.</p><p>“Aw, c'mon! You know the drill!” Javier passed it back with a smug, teasing grin. “Age before beauty.”</p><p>David rolled his eyes. “Ah, you fucker.”</p><p>David took the blade, but on his bath across it bended under the stress of his weight. It was worrying, but David still passed it back for his younger brother. His anxieties were correct, once Javi was going across, it bent further. The blade was pointed downward at the ground and Javi hadn’t made it across.</p><p>Everyone yelled out for him and told Javier to hang on. The man did, and tried pulling himself up on the creaking metal blade. As he tried to climb up, the severed walker dangling from the helicopter was reaching out to grab him, now a much more immediate threat. Javier, in a moment of quick action, grabbed onto its hanging intestines and swung it to the side. The walker was impaled by a rebar, now too far to reach him. Javier climbed up once more, but as he continued the blade broke off. Before it fell down the highway, Javier managed to grab the landing skid of the helicopter to save himself.</p><p>“C’mon man!” David yelled after his brother. He and Luke rushed to the side of the helicopter, and pulled Javier up the rest of the way.</p><p>“You okay?” Kate rushed up to Javier once he was on the ground.</p><p>“Oh, my - fuck that! Seriously? Fuck you, helicopter!” Javier yelled to the broken craft. He put his hands on his knees and took some deep pants, before turning back around to face everyone. “Good work, everyone! Just like we rehearsed.”</p><p>“I don't know, I think we can do better.” Kate smiled, “Head back over. Let's try that again!”</p><p>“Enough! Come on.” David kept walking forward. He wasn’t someone who would halt or take a breath during a mission.</p><p>Javier sighed, and looked out to see the water tower not too far in the distance. “Almost there…” The group kept going.</p>
<hr/><p>It wasn’t long until they reached the water tower. Sunset was glaring down on them in shades of beautiful orange, but they couldn’t look at its majesty. Their eyes were fixed on the ground below, at the herd rotting bodies swarming the garage. </p><p>Javier groaned, “I miss when all we did was track the herd. From a safe distance.”</p><p>Kate missed those days too, but she wouldn’t let nostalgia cloud her thinking. “We need to get down there. We're not getting anywhere without one of those vehicles.”</p><p>“It's not like we can just ask all those walkers to move out of the way.” David said.</p><p>“How about we make some noise and distract them? We can use that generator.” Gabe pointed out the machine.</p><p>“That's a great idea, Gabe.” Javier praised his nephew.</p><p>“When'd you get so smart, Gabe? You really aren't the same kid I remember. I'm impressed. Really.” David expressed his pride for his son, but to Gabe it sounded unintentionally backhanded.</p><p>Kate looked around for a path to the machine, “We still gotta get to the generator somehow.”</p><p>“Cut a walker open and cover yourself with its guts. Then you can slip right through them.” Clementine said so cut-and-dry the rest of the group stared at her in disgust and bewilderment. She realized she was being stared at and crossed her arms either defensively or insecurely. “What?”</p><p>“Please, tell me you're kidding.” Javier asked, to which Clem shook her head. “I said please.”</p><p>Luke shook his head as well. “Unfortunately, she is <em>not.”</em> He was just as repulsed when Jane and Clementine told them, when they had to escape the herd at Howe’s. He had been lucky enough to not have to do that since.</p><p>“So...who's gonna do it?” Clementine looked around, and her hazel eyes landed on Javi. “You know, you...do kinda owe me one. You let Conrad use me as trade. That wasn't very polite.” She raised her eyebrows in an almost playful way, she was messing with him.</p><p>Javier shrugged, “If it makes us even.”</p><p>“I’ll help too.” Luke volunteered. Javier has saved his neck several times today, least he could do is have his back. “‘Case anything goes wrong.”</p><p>As the two men climb down the ladder, Clementine warns Javier. “Look, it smells <em>really</em> bad, like, <em>way</em> worse than you think.”</p><p>Once on the ground, Javier spotted a walker closer by. It was more frail, but rotted and...juicy. He elbowed Luke to get his attention. “This one’ll do.”</p><p>Javi let out a whistle, and a walker approached him from the noise. Luke walked to the side and stabbed it’s head with a knife, and they dragged it together behind the dumpster.</p><p>“Okay...you can do this, Javier.” Javi psyched himself up as Luke sliced it open.</p><p>Luke gagged, “Phew… That’s stronger than bear’s breath.” He tried to hold his breath as he scooped some guts with his hands.</p><p>“Holy fucking god...ugh. God. <em>Ughh.</em> I think...I'm gonna be sick.” Javier pulled the rotting flesh out. “Oh, this sucks, this sucks, this sucks, this sucks…” He muttered under his breath.</p><p>Luke chuckled at that as they both covered themselves in the guts.</p><p>“Do you just literally eat shit all day long? Is that why you smell so bad?” Javier insulted the corpse.</p><p>Finished, Luke wiped his hands off as best he could. “Okay, that better be enough.”</p><p>The two passed through the small herd, and Javier turned on the generator. The noise drew the walkers to it, and from behind Javi and Luke could take them out with quick knife-jabs to the head. After which, they headed to the garage, where the rest of the group followed in.</p><p>“You did it!” Clem congratulated them, she and Javier shared a fist-bump.</p><p>“Barely.” David downplayed it.</p><p>Javier looked round the garage. “Now that we're here, we've gotta find something to seal the breach with.”</p><p>Luke nodded, “All we need is the right vehicle.”</p><p>David walked forward to a truck. It was just outside the garage. It was tall, with barred windows, with some armouring but not nearly big enough. Not the giant vehicle they needed to stop the herd.</p><p>“Uh, that's not gonna do the job, man…” Javier said.</p><p>“Yes. It is.” David opened the door and took the keys.</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>“The right thing.” At least, the right thing for David and those he cared about. “I'm leaving. We're <em>all</em> leaving.”</p><p>“What? And going where?” Javier questioned. “You saw it yourself, we're surrounded by the herd!”</p><p>“I'm taking my family out of here.” David insisted. He looked to Ava, Clementine, and Luke. “You helped keep them safe. You're coming, too. Let's go! Everyone. We can't wait around.”</p><p>Kate protested, “This is bullshit, David!”</p><p>“David, you can’t just leave your men behind.” Ava furrowed her brow.</p><p>“Absolutely not! Everyone in Richmond will die without us!” Yelled Javier.</p><p>“They don't matter, Javi. Don't you get that?”</p><p>Kate came forward and gestured emphatically, “This all started the day we knocked on Richmond's door. <em>We</em> brought this upon these people. All of us! We can't abandon them! Not after what we've done!”</p><p>“We're going home, Kate!” David shouted at his wife. Why wouldn’t she let him save her? “Back to the last place we were a family. We're starting over. We're all together again. Finally. It's time. All of us. A new day. A new life.”</p><p>“That's crazy talk, David. Home is <em>gone.”</em> Javier said, “Just like everything else.”</p><p>“I thought you guys were gone once, and I was wrong. Maybe you're wrong, too.”</p><p>“What about here, man? Make Richmond our new home.” Javier couldn’t go back there, not without Mariana. That home was lost, but they could build a new one.</p><p>“Richmond is gone, Javi.” David said, he gripped the car keys in his fist. “I'm not gonna let the people I love die trying to save a dead dream.”</p><p>There was a pause, “...I'll go with you, Dad.</p><p>Clementine looked to the boy, “Gabe?”</p><p>“He's my father, Clem.” A guilty expression tugged at his young face, “I'm sorry, but...you really wouldn't understand.” He didn’t mean to hurt her like that. Ouch.</p><p>Javier took a stepforward. He just lost Mari, would he lose Gabe too? “Think this over, buddy.”</p><p>Kate came close to the boy, “Gabe, is this what you really want?”</p><p>“I know it's scary out there, but...I have to.” Gabriel couldn’t leave his dad, not after finding him.</p><p>“You don't have to be afraid, Gabe.” David put a hand on his boy’s shoulder. “I won't let what happened to Mariana happen to you. You have my word. I'll protect you. The right way.”</p><p>“That's fucking bullshit, David. She was lucky to have us. At least we were actually around to <em>raise</em> her.” Javier said. How could David blame them for Mariana’s death when they were the ones to keep her alive all those years? When the fault of her passing went back round to David?</p><p>“Javi, just...stop.” Gabe begged, he didn’t want this to be harder than it was.</p><p>Javier’s chest rose with anger, but it soon broke away into something bittersad. “We always hoped you would come back…” He looked to his brother. “I wish you had gotten to know her. Her smile, man...it was like sunshine.”</p><p>David swallowed, now more resolute. “I'm not missing another minute with my family now.”</p><p>Gabe looked to his caretakers, “This is what I want.”</p><p>“I...I understand, Gabe.” Kate’s face faltered, but when she looked away it reformed resolute. “I'm still going back. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't try to help the people in Richmond.”</p><p>“You won't be able to live at <em>all</em> if you do that. Richmond is compromised. Doesn't matter if there were five of us trying to save it or five hundred. We'd all die. I know a losing battle when I see one.” David raised his voice.”We're moving out. Everybody get in. That's an order!” His voice was commanding, authoritative, and dismissive.</p><p>Kate slapped David. “How fucking dare you! What will it take, David? Huh?! What will it take to show you that you do not get to do that?! We are not your soldiers! Run away home. Be a deserter. I am done with you.” Kate crossed her arms and turned away from him. “I can't believe I <em>ever</em> loved you. I can't believe I ever loved <em>either</em> of you.” She glared at both García brothers.</p><p>“Javi, what the hell is she talking about?” David’s voice was low and scathing, how it got before he became real scary. “Javi!”</p><p>“I may have felt...something… <em>once.”</em> Javier looked at his brother to try to explain with a pleading expression. He let go of Kate for David, he wouldn’t that tear them apart. But it seemed that even by pushing Kate away, he lost David too. “David, I thought you were <em>dead.</em> We were together in that van for <em>years,</em> David. I mean, years! You...you shouldn't be so surprised. When I found out you were alive, though, I pushed those feelings away. You have to believe me.”</p><p>“I don't have to believe a <em>goddamn thing.”</em> David clenched fist, fury was fuming off of his skin. Betrayal, the thing that had consumed his life for the past few days, was now coming from a new source. His brother and his wife. This felt worse than Joan. “I should've <em>known.</em> I should've known the night Pa died. The night you weren't there.”</p><p>Kate could see his anger, she backed up and took Gabriel behind her to protect him, preparing for another outburst.</p><p>“Blood is <em>worthless</em> to you.” David continued. “Just like <em>he</em> was to you. Just like <em>I</em> am to you. Well, it's time for you to finally learn what blood <em>really means.”</em></p><p>David punched Javi in the face, a harsh uppercut on his jaw. Javier crouched over to hold his face, but stood back up to face him.</p><p>“David!” Kate yelled.</p><p>“Dad!”</p><p>“What do you have to say for yourself… <em>brother?”</em></p><p>“David! Stop it!” Kate tried to come between them, but David pushed her away.</p><p>Javier helds his aching cheek, but raised his chin up to face him. “I love you.” Javier said.</p><p>Shock and despair washed over David’s face, but he forced it down. He scorched it with anger. “No...no, you <em>don’t</em> get to say that!” David hit Javier tactically in the gut and then in the face once more, Javier grunted at the force, and was knocked to the ground.</p><p>“Jesus Christ, <em>stop!”</em> Kate shouted.</p><p>Ava scowled, but new better than to approach. “David, that’s enough!”</p><p>David wouldn’t listen, his rage too all-consuming. From a toolkit, David took hold of a wrench. Javier backed away on his elbows, still knocked to the ground.</p><p>“How fucking <em>dare</em> you!”</p><p>“That's enough! Stop it!” Kate cried again.</p><p>“David, stop!” She had seen this rage before, she had seen this rage before. She had seen what it had done to Caver, and she had to stop it from doing the same to Luke. If David couldn’t snap out of it, she would have to stop it from destroying Javier as well.</p><p>“Oh, my god!” Gabe shouted.</p><p>Javier got up from the ground and faced David at eye level. His face was pained, his heart even heavier. “I <em>love</em> you.”</p><p>“No! Stop saying that!” David whacked Javi with the wrench, knocking him to the ground once more. David kept him there, pinning Javier down with his knees and printing the wrench over his neck.</p><p>“Dad, no!” Gabe grabbed David's arm to pull him away, but that wouldn’t stop David. Without looking back David hit Gabe with the wrench so hard that his son fell to the ground.</p><p>Kate rushed to her stepson. “Gabe!”</p><p>Clementine came to Gabe’s side as well, “Oh, my god!”</p><p>David continues to press the wrench down onto Javier’s neck, choking him. “You're not taking my family from me!”</p><p>Ava spoke up again, this escalation was getting out of hand. “David, cut it out!” But David didn’t listen.</p><p>
  <em>”I'm gonna fucking kill you!”</em>
</p><p>Kate held her nephew’s head to her chest, “Fucking stop!”</p><p>“I'm warning you! Stop!” Clementine stood up, he approached David with her gun aimed straight.</p><p>“Clem-”  Luke held up a hand to stop her, to keep her from getting involved, but he let it fall. She’d had to do this before, if she hadn’t he wouldn’t be standing here. Better David than Kenny…</p><p><em>”I love you...brother.”</em> Javier said between his choking, his insistence and pacifism bolstering his words. He kept his promise to his father, and he could see in David’s eyes guilt. </p><p>Before that guilt got him to stop, Clementine did. Clementine shot David in the shoulder. “Ah! Fuck!” David gets off Javier and whipped around to look at Clementine, to direct his anger towards her, but the girl still had a gun on him and no hesitation in her eyes.</p><p>There was a pause, everyone watched the stand off with bated breath. Clementine still had her gun pointed at David. They all watched as she raised it and fired.</p><p>But she did not hit David. Just the walker behind them. Her first shot attracted them back.</p><p>“Fuck!” David yelled.</p><p>“Holy shit!” Kate hadn’t even noticed the walkers in all the chaos.</p><p>Javier jumped to his feet and pulled out his gun, David beside him started firing at the walkers as well as the rest all ran into the garage. All except Gabe, who had his father’s hand on his arm holding him back.</p><p>“David?” Javier looked back, but his brother only glared into his eyes before reaching his arm up and slamming the garage door closed. “What the hell is he doing?!” Javier pulled open the metal garage door, but not soon enough. David had taken Gabe away in the truck and they could see it driving off through the gate. The herd followed the noise.</p><p>“David took him!” Clementine yelled.</p><p>“Fucking hell, David!” Ava kicked a box loose on the ground.</p><p>Kate, despite her conflicting panic, continued with the original plan. “We can't wait any longer. We have to go help Richmond. I'm getting on that bulldozer!”</p><p>“But Gabe!” Clementine pointed to the truck’s path.</p><p>“Gabe wanted to go!” Kate yelled, “He did! We all heard it!”</p><p>“You're...you're right.” Clementine hushed herself. Gabriel made his choice…</p><p>“I'm going to save Richmond.” Kate looked at everyone, announcing her resolve. “Someone has to.”</p><p>Luke stepped forward, “You're gonna need as much help as you can get, Kate. I'll go with you.”</p><p>“Me too. Not gonna leave my men out to dry.” Ava joined.</p><p>Clementine pointed to a motorcycle off in the garage. “I'll use that motorcycle and go after Gabe. Javi, you should help Kate.”</p><p>“What about you, Clem?” Javier asked.</p><p>“I can take care of myself.” Clementine faced Javier, “Javi... I'm sorry, I've been here before. More than once. It's not gonna end well for everyone. You have to decide.”</p><p>Javier looked between them all. Between his family and Richmond? It was no contest, but that didn’t make it an easy choice to make. “I have to go after Gabe.”</p><p>“I'm with you, Javi. We're going after him together.” Clementine nodded. “Please be careful, Kate. Luke.”</p><p>“You too, Clem,” Luke came over and gave her a hug. It was a quick embrace, a goodbye, and Luke hoped it wouldn’t be their last.</p><p>Kate nodded to the girl, “Don't worry about me. I got a fucking bulldozer.”</p><p>“Those walkers are pancakes.” Ava grinned, she walked over to the bulldozer to get it started.</p><p>Kate came closer to Javier. “I want you to be safe out there, Javi.”</p><p>“No problem. Do you mind returning the favor?”</p><p>“Sure. Thanks for asking.”</p><p>With the last goodbyes left unlingering, the group split up into their remaining missions. Save Richmond. Save Gabe. Save their souls.</p>
<hr/><p>Javier and Clementine are quick on the pursuit of David. Javier drove the motorcycle, and Clementine held onto him from behind. The sun set before them, and rain started crashing down, but they kept going. They kept following the trail of dead walkers down this road, hoping it would lead right to them. Javier pulled out his bat, holding it out to whack any walkers they drove past.</p><p>“How long do we keep driving? We may not find them. They could be too far ahead of us.” Clementine yelled so Javier could hear her through the wind.</p><p>“I don't know.” Javier yelled back, “Just don't let your hat blow away.” He revved up the engine and pushed their bike to go faster, eventually leading them back to a denser trail of walker corpses. Heads and legs crushed in by wheels. “They must've gone this way. Hopefully, the roadkill will lead us right to them.”</p><p>Javier parked the motorcycle and took out his bat. A walker came close and he swung, but missed, it got a little too close before Clementine shot it down.</p><p>“You know, hitting them might help! Just a suggestion.”</p><p>“Thanks for the advice!” Javier thanked sarcastically before decapitating another walker with his bat. He then switched to his gun. Turning a corner, they see David’s truck crashed into a fire hydrant, walkers surrounding all the doors. “This way!” He and Clementine run towards it.</p><p>“They’re everywhere!” Both could hear Gabe shout, his voice muffled in the passenger’s seat.</p><p>“Don’t let them get you!” David’s voice yelled to his son.<br/>
Javier: This way!</p><p>“Hang on, Gabe!” Javier yelled. He and Clementine kill the walkers outside the truck, but when one clutches him from behind he fires over his shoulder, disorienting himself due to the gun firing so close to his ear.</p><p>“Help! Somebody help us!” Gabe shouts again after hearing the gun fire.</p><p>“Hang on, Gabe!” Javier tries to fire at the next walker, but realizes he is out of ammo. He dropped the gun, and pulled out his bat. Since he stopped shooting, the walkers drew closer to him from the noise. “That’s right… Focus on me! Come on! Yeah, that's it, that's it!” Javier yelled, leading the walkers further away from the car with his voice.</p><p>Gabe heard through the window and shouted back, “Javi! Clem! Is that you?! Help us!”</p><p>Javier looked at Clementine as he swatted down the walkers near him. “You get David. I'll get Gabe!”</p><p>The girl nodded, and killed a walker about to attack David as the man opened his car door.</p><p>“Get away from him, you bastard!” Javier bashed in the skull of a walker by Gabe’s door. “I’m here, Gabe. I got you.” Javier opened the door and hugged his nephew, never had he been so close to losing him before.</p><p>“Okay... Okay.” Gabe hopped out of the car and accepted his uncle’s embrace.</p><p>“I'll cover you!” Clementine drew her gun once more and fired at the remaining walkers. Gabriel crossed the street and sat down near some crates, his head ached from the crash.</p><p>Javier cupped his nephew’s face in his hands and looked him over. “Are you okay?! Are you bitten?”</p><p>“No! They didn't get me!”</p><p>“Oh, thank god!” Javier hugged his nephew again in relief.</p><p>“I-I'm fine. It just... It-it hurts.” Gabe glanced over at his father. “I tried to stop him, Javi. That's why we crashed. You came after me, Javi. After everything I've done.” Gabe’s voice was shaking, he was scared and unsure. He had made bad choices...he followed the wrong man.</p><p>“What are you talking about?” Javier asked.</p><p>“I was always arguing-always making life harder. And I was a bad son. I wouldn't have come after me.” The whole drive, the whole time spent in the crashed car, that was all he was thinking. He made a mistake, he was a bad kid, and he didn’t deserve to be saved.</p><p>“Hey, knock that off, buddy.” Javier pulled away. “You're a great son.”</p><p>“I don't feel like one…”</p><p>“Don't worry.” Javier ruffled his hair, messing up his beanie. “It's not up to you to decide.”</p><p>“I-I'm gonna be better from now on. I <em>swear.”</em> Gabe promised, he hoped he could keep it.</p><p>“Gabe! You okay?” Clementine rushed over once the walkers were all taken care of.</p><p>“Yeah. Thanks to you guys.”</p><p>“Figured we were done, brother.” David speaks up from down the road.</p><p>"’You have to take care of each other.’" Javier answered. “That's what Pa said to me once.” What he said when they found out his diagnosis. A promise Javier made, one he would keep.</p><p>“Yeah... He told me the same thing. I wonder what he'd say to me now.” David looked away at the cobblestone. “I wonder that a lot, actually. I'm sure you do, too.”</p><p>“He'd say you fucked up. Big time. He'd call you <em>’pendejo.’</em> And then he'd ask if you wanted to play dominoes.” Javier answered, a smile came to his face. One fond and melancholy of his father’s memory.</p><p>“Pfft. You're right. That is exactly what he'd do.” David smiled as well, in the same forlorn way. “I wouldn't deserve to play that game with him, though. With either of you.” He took a deep sigh and looked in his brother’s eyes again. “I can't change, Javi. I want to, but...we're in a war that's never going to end. I was kidding myself. We're...never going home. That hope died the same day we all drove away. The same day Pa died. That's the last lesson he taught me. I had to teach it to my son too. Someone had to. Finally.”</p><p>“We are still your family, David.” Javier said. “There's hope here. And there will always be hope here, brother.”</p><p>David shook his head softly from side to side, “I'll take clarity over hope any day…”</p><p>“We're going back to Richmond.” Javier said. “We have to help Kate.”</p><p>“I can't face Kate, Javi…” David confessed. “I can't see that different look in her eyes. Or yours. I can't. It's too much. Too much for anyone to handle.”</p><p>“You should come back with us!”</p><p>“Thanks. But too much has changed, Javi.” David rejected.</p><p>“That doesn't matter.” Javier said.</p><p>“Maybe it doesn't matter to you…” His brother had changed. David could see that now. He didn’t leave family behind, he didn’t rely on others. He got stronger in all this, he grew… Had David? Or had he hardened, shriveled in all this. Had it become impossible to be the man he was? Or the man his family needed him to be?</p><p>“ Legacy, David. It's all anyone leaves behind.” Javier repeated their father’s wisdom. “Figure out the kind you want.”</p><p>With a last look to his brother, David walked away without another word. There was nothing left he felt was worth saying...that he could justify. David walked down the alley, in the rain and in the dark, and Javier wondered if this was the last he would ever see of their brother. Did he do right by him? Did he make their father proud?</p>
<hr/><p>In the blue truck David had tried to run away in, they returned to Richmond. Out in the town square they were met with Jesus and other cavalry soldiers from Kingdom. Up on horses and plated in armour, they were killing walkers left and right. Javier drove until he parked and jumped out right by the gate, when Jesus came riding in mounted on a grey horse with his hair tied up in a bun. “Well, there's a happy sight.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let's get inside! We gotta find Kate!” Javi urged. They get out of the truck, stopping right next to the gate of New Richmond, when Javier suddenly notices Jesus.</p><p>“Jesus! Man, am I glad to see you! Looking a little bit different, though!”</p><p>“Once I got in contact with my people, I headed right back. Had to make sure you folks were safe. Can you help us get the gate open?”</p><p>Javier turned to his nephew for help to get atop of the gates watchtower. “You gotta boost me up, Gabe!” They both stepped on the hood of the truck to get a better lift.</p><p>“Hurry up, guys!” Clementine urged them.</p><p>Gabe boosted Javi up, his uncle was able to reach a rung of the tower.</p><p>“I'll have it open in a second.” Javi climbed up the tower to the control panel, immediately disgruntled at the shit ton of buttons “They couldn't just have an "open gate" button?” he grumbled. He took a gamble, old habits die hard, and pressed one of the buttons on the control panel, followed by a loud honking sound and the gate still closed. “Ah, shit!”</p><p>“Are you trying to attract even more walkers?” Jesus snarked.</p><p>“No!” Javi pushed a green button and the gate finally opened. “Bingo!” he cheered.</p><p>“Let's get inside and wrangle the walkers together! If we get them in one group, we can lead them right out!” A Kingdom Soldier with a shaved head on a horse rallies. The group continued to move through the streets of Richmond.</p><p>“We need to round up these walkers!” Another Kingdom soldier shouts.</p><p>“Kate! Kate, where are you?!” Javier called out for her. He was getting more and more worried. Hundreds of walkers surrounded him, but no Kate in sight. He was starting to fear the worst.</p><p>“Head 'em towards the gate!” shouted another Kingdom soldier.</p><p>“Looks like she's got the hole covered,” Clementine reported, gesturing at the paddywagon blocking the barricade Kate broke.</p><p>“Kate! Kate!” Javi continued calling.</p><p>“Kate! Ava! Luke! Where are you?!” Clementine paused as she saw the bulldozer crashed against a wall, and Luke pinned beneath it.</p><p><em>”Luke!”</em> she cried out as she ran toward him. “Luke, come on!” She took his head in his lap, unconscious and dripping blood down his forehead. His body was partially wedged underneath the massive back wheel, what happened? She checked his pulse, still alive, and from the guts he had camouflaged himself enough so no walkers had bitten him. She pulled on his body, but couldn’t drag him out. For now, him being unbitten and alive would have to do.</p><p>“Kate! Kate, please!” Gabe desperately called out, frantically looking for his stepmom.</p><p>“Kate, call out to me!” Javi was desperate at this point. He turned his attention to the herd, one of the walkers shambling away and revealing the one he had frantically been looking for. Suddenly, he felt his heart drop. He finally found Kate, but not the way he wanted to. In the herd he saw Kate, as a <em>muerto.</em> “No!”</p><p>Javi could only watch as Kate, now as a walker, limped around just like the rest. What hurts the most is that she didn’t even acknowledge him. Her eyes pass by him, not lingering, not even really looking. Doesn’t know he’s there. She’s not there anymore. For a brief second, he found his hand around his gun shaking, but resolved himself and took a step forward. Full of grief and with a heavy heart, he raised his gun and aimed it at Kate.</p><p>With the pull of a trigger, he shot Kate. With only a second to fall, she collapsed to the ground as if she were a ragdoll. Once she was dead completely, Javier’s nerves came back to him and his grip on his gun started to shake, dropping it on the ground. Javi screamed out in agony as he fell to his knees, breaking down sobbing.</p><p>Gabe ran up to his side at the sound of his cry of despair, sounding out of breath. “Wh-what happened?”</p><p>“She's... She's gone.”</p><p>“What? N-n-no!” Gabe said in disbelief. He looked over to what Javi was looking at and kneeling over. He didn’t want to believe it but it was true. Clear as the day is the sight of Kate’s corpse collapsed on the ground, looking very much like a walker. “No!!! Kate, no!” Gabe cried out, running over to her.</p><p>“She wanted to save Richmond. And she did.” Javi looked at her body. “I hope it was worth it…” Javi’s voice was woven with grief.</p><p>“Javi, are we all alone now?” Gabriel came back to his uncle.</p><p>Javi looked out at the night before them, in the distance a car pulled up. David stepped out, he was standing and looking out at the carnage he tried to avoid. Ava with him, in the driver’s seat, she had been the one to pull him back from his self-inflicted exile.</p><p>“I guess we'll see.”</p><p>The García boys hugged each other as the depressingly appropriate rain washed over them. It was all over now, more than they wanted it to be...</p>
<hr/><p>Three days had passed from the chaos. Wounds were tended to, and now needed healing. The corpses of faceless walkers had been dragged out into fields of mass pits, the bodies of those who mattered were buried by those who took the time to, by those who loved them. </p><p>Kate was buried in an empty lot by a dogwood tree. It’s flowers had fallen, but would one day be in bloom again. The García men thought she would like that… She would be close by.</p><p>With the chaos over, they were now able to mourn. They were at the start of their task to rebuild their lives, but did that involve rebuilding Richmond? The collective grief was unimaginable, and the resolve would have to be as well.</p><p>Javier and Gabe entered a church, a place that had been the center of the grief and healing of the last few days. The wall down the aisle was filled with pictures, the faces of those lost. Javi looked to his nephew, and placed the two photos of Kate and Mariana on the wall.</p><p>Gabe stared at the photos, his face red and eyes puffy. “Maybe you should have stayed with her instead of going after me. Maybe she'd be okay…” He lamented, the guilt was consuming whether justified or not.</p><p>“Maybe you wouldn't be.” Javier said to his nephew. He felt regret, but regret could grow into resentment if he didn’t stop it.</p><p>“I was such an asshole to her. All the time. I'm sorry, Kate…”</p><p>“Forget all that, buddy.” Javier put a hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “She loved you. Plain and simple.”</p><p>“I loved her, too.” Gabe’s breathing hitched in guilt, “I don't think I ever told her.”</p><p>Javier paused, he knew that feeling as well, in a different way…</p><p>“Ever since you saved us and we all came back to Richmond... My dad won't talk to me. Not after...what happened.” Gabe said. </p><p>“He won't talk to me, either. But I think I know why…” Ever since David came back, he hadn’t said a word to them. He avoided his family, and was hard to get a hold of. David didn’t take his vulnerability well...he must be hiding to lick his own wounds, to try to heal his mourning alone. That, or feeling angry at them for what happened. That’s what Gabe probably felt. “I'm surprised, though. Why won't he talk to you?”</p><p>“I tried to stop him, Javi. That's why we hit the <em>muertos.</em> I thought that if we just went back... I thought I could save him. I thought I had to! Someone has to.”</p><p>“You can’t save him, Gabe…” Javier shook his head, “...that’s something David needs to do for himself.”</p><p>The two return their glances to Kate and Mariana, the pictures of them. They were smiling, happy...that’s how Javier wanted to remember them.</p><p>“That's all that's left of them. Pieces of paper looking back at us... But never seeing us. What the hell are we supposed to do with that? What do we do...with any of this?” Gabe cried, his grief was becoming tangled in frustration.</p><p>“Tell stories about them... Laugh at the jokes they used to tell... Keep living. Keep loving. Keep them in our hearts.” Javier looked to his nephew, “Can you do that?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Gabe swallowed, “I can.”</p><p>They stay for a while, looking over the photos. Not only of Kate and Mari, but of everyone who had them. Of Tripp, Francine, Ida, Joan, Rufus...all those that were lost. All those lives that could have ended much differently, each a tragedy in their own right.</p><p>Eventually, they leave the dim church and enter back out into the bright, sunlit afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, as if the world needed to give an apology. Gabe wandered away, but a certain voice had Javier lingering on the steps.</p><p>"’And yet death was not something you could ignore. It had its weight. It seemed to her she had better not form the practice of ignoring death. If she tried it, death would find a way to answer back. It would take another of her loved ones, to remind her to respect it.’" Conrad read a passage of the book he was reading, sitting on the steps of the church.</p><p>“What's that you're reading?” Javier asked.</p><p>“Oh, some old book Francine always tried to get me to read.” Conrad shrugged with a fond smile. “Cowboys and shit like that. Told her it wasn't my style. She would insist, though. Huh! And I'd insist right back otherwise.”</p><p>“Francine must've had good taste. Looks like you're enjoying it.” Javier smiled, it was nice to see Conrad keep her memory alive.</p><p>Conrad chuckled, “Just don't tell Francine.” He looked to the sky. To Javier, he seemed at peace.</p><p>“I could use a good book. Mind if I borrow it when you're done?”</p><p>“Only if you use a bookmark. Can't stand dog-ears. Hmm!”</p><p>Javier nodded to Conrad, and waved goodbye. He walked down the steps of the church and came out into the square. Approaching him came Jesus on his horse.</p><p>“Heading out?” Javier asked.</p><p>“Yes, indeed.” Jesus reigned in his horse to stop. “We came here to put an end to the raiding. Looks like that's been done. Glad we got it settled. Gotta move on.”</p><p>“We lost a lot. We may have helped fix things, but... There was a cost to it all.” Javier shook his head.</p><p>“There usually is, unfortunately.” Jesus looked Javier over from his high seat, “I was worried about you, Javi - about who you are inside. You helped save these people, though. That goes a long way for me. I don't meet a lot of people like you, Javi. Someone genuinely good. It was my pleasure.”</p><p>“Mine too.” Javier nodded. Through all of this, he was glad to meet Jesus. “I gotta admit, man... You're a fucking badass!”</p><p>Jesus raised his eyebrows, there was a slight pause before he spoke. “And you're a real charmer. You know that? Through and through.” Jesus said flirtatiously.</p><p>“Oh, you know what they say... Takes one to know one.” Javier reciprocated, the flirt he was.</p><p>“That they do.” Jesus smiled, then looked back out on the town square. “Second chances are in short supply these days. That's what this place can be, if you let it. Trust me, though, life within walls is a hell of a lot different than life on the road. Don't take shortcuts like Joan. You gotta do the right thing. Always. Good days, and especially bad.” Jesus looked back at Javi to give him more advice, “After dust settles, people start looking around. They may look at you for what to do. I read people pretty well. Little gift of mine. You're a capable guy, Javi. Change is in the air here. You can lead that change, and I think you should. For the better. God knows this town could use it.”</p><p>“I’ll step up. But it’ll be up to them if they want me to lead. If they trust me.” Javier wouldn’t make himself the leader if they didn’t want him. After the pain his family started, they had every right not to.</p><p>“Then as far as I'm concerned, Richmond's in a much better place than it was.” Jesus nodded, he then looked over to see Gabe approach.</p><p>“Hey, uh...Jesus?” Gabe asked.</p><p>“Hey, uh, Gabe.” Jesus lightly teased.</p><p>“Thanks for...you know... Not letting me get killed. And for coming back to help us.” Gabe thanked him.</p><p>“Yeah. Thanks for that, man.” Javi thanked him as well.</p><p>“Pay it forward.” Jesus looked at Javi, “Be vigilant. Trouble never stays too far away.” With that, Jesus reigned his horse once more and started to head out. Javier and Gabe waved goodbye to him as he made his way back to Kingdom.</p><p>Gabe walked off once more, and so did Javi. Soon, Clementine joined him, and both saw as Lingard walked through the square.</p><p>“You're alive.” Javier approached, it had been a few days since he had seen Lingard, really. After what happened, many people needed his help. And what happened that night at the hospital kept Lingard away as well…</p><p>“Oh, Don't remind me…” Lingard shook his head. His facilitated suicide attempt was a faliure, but if it hadn’t been many people wouldn’t be here anymore. They’d be gone, like so many of the others. “I'm not gonna say thank you for keeping me alive. But I'm gonna try and find something out there that might make me say thank you...someday.”</p><p>“How’s Luke? Please, let me know.” Clementine asked. When she found him on the street, as the chaos was still happening, she dragged him out from under the bulldozer. He was still alive and not bit. The walkers passed him by from the guts he had smeared earlier. She left him on the ground, but not for long. As soon as she could, she dragged him out to the hospital. Since then, the dust had settled...and she was still worried.</p><p>“It isn’t pretty, but he’s coming too. Won’t be able to walk for a while and I’ll have to tend to that concussion, but he’ll be alright. One day.” Lingard said. Luke had been run over by the bulldozer, just partially. He was wedged under the wheel, but it hadn’t gone over him. His femur was snapped, that was obvious enough to tell, but without an X-ray it was impossible to tell if the damage to his hip was a fracture or a break. The concussion was severe, must have been from falling out of the bulldozer, that would have to go away on its own time.</p><p>“Thank you…” Clementine nodded. Luke was going to be okay...but he wouldn’t be able to take her to AJ. “Can you tell me where AJ is now? Give me a map, so I can bring him back here. Tell me, please.”</p><p>“Start saving your soul today. Tell us where AJ is.” Javier backed Clementine’s request.</p><p>“Don't know how much of that soul I got left.” Lingard shook his head.</p><p>“Please.”</p><p>“What the hell…” Lingard waved a hand. “I’ve got a route back in my office to the Ranch. McCarroll’s all the way out in Kentucky. It’ll be a trek, but you can bring the boy here. If that’s what you really want.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Clementine nodded, “Good luck out there, doctor.”</p><p>Lingard nodded back to her, then left to tend back to his patients and get the map.</p><p>“You're outta here too, huh?” Javier asked Clementine. So many had already left Richmond after what happened.</p><p>“Yeah. It's time. I have to find AJ, Javi. I've waited so long.” Clementine looked between Javi and the gate. “But could you do me one last favor, before I leave?” Clementine handed Javier a pair of scissors, and sat down at a chess table while Javi began to cut her hair.</p><p>“I used to do this for my niece.” Javier mentioned. Mariana had such beautiful hair, it looked like his mother’s.</p><p>“That's nice of you.”</p><p>“She thought I was terrible at it.”</p><p>“Were you?”</p><p>“None of your business.” Javier smirked at the irony.</p><p>Clementine sighed, “I'm really gonna miss Gabe. I mean--he's super annoying sometimes, but...I've gotten used to having him around. At least to have someone to talk to. Even if he is a total dork.”</p><p>Javier raised his eyebrows, “Not that he's said anything to me in particular, but... You know the guy's got a <em>mondo</em> crush on you, right?”</p><p>“Ah! He does not!” Clementine flushed, she was embarrassed.</p><p>“Oh, my gosh, you have a crush on him too!”</p><p>“I do <em>not!”</em></p><p>“Ah, you both have my blessing.” Javier teased.</p><p>“I'm gonna stab you with those scissors!” Clementine laughs. Her face grew more solemn, “I have to see AJ, Javi. I have to see that he's okay. Do you think he remembers me? At least a little? Maybe?”</p><p>“I don't know. When they're that young, they're not exactly known for their memory skills. More...drooling and pooping.”</p><p>“He did do a lot of both of those.” She conceded.</p><p>“But who could forget you, Clem? No one who knew you, I guarantee it.” Javier said. That made her smile.</p><p>“Everyone told us he was better off. After everything's that's happened, I'm starting to think they're right. I don't know if I was a good mom or not. I can't stop thinking about it. I really wish I could.” Clementine confessed her anxieties.</p><p>“Did you love him?” Javier asked.</p><p>“With all of my heart.”</p><p>“Then of course you were.”</p><p>Clementine took a look behind and saw Javi’s jersey. “Gabe told me you used to play baseball.”</p><p>“I did.” Javi answered. “I loved it.”</p><p>“He told me you fucked it all up, too.”</p><p>“Yup. Sure did.”</p><p>“Well, you survived.”</p><p>“I had to.”</p><p>“But you loved it. How do you survive that?” Clementine asked, she needed this advice. “How? If you really loved it? How?”</p><p>“That's what's good about a broken heart.” Javier said, “When you're looking at it all broken and shattered on the floor... You figure out the pieces you need versus the ones you liked. If you're ready to move on, that is…”</p><p>“If…” Clementine started, but then faded out. She didn’t know how to ask what she needed to.</p><p>Javier cut the last strand of hair and put the scissors in his pocket. “All done!”</p><p>“Well, how's it look?” Clementine stood up and turned around to ask. It’s short, very short, and fringy. </p><p>“You know what?” Javier rubbed the back of his neck, it wasn’t his best work. “I'll grab your hat.”</p><p>Clementine slumped her shoulders. Really? </p><p>Javier inspected the team logo on Clementine’s hat before handing it over. “Huh. I remember this team. Your dad ever teach you about baseball?”</p><p>“No, not really.” Clementine said as she pulled it back on. She’s surprised that Javier correctly assumed he gave it to her.</p><p>“Well, you come back, and I'll tell you all about it.”</p><p>“It's a deal.” The two shake hands. “When I bring AJ back with me, will you teach him too?”</p><p>“You bet.” Javier agreed. “He belongs with you, Clementine. Bring him back.”</p>
<hr/><p>It was time for Clementine’s farewell. She had stayed behind for a few days, so that she could speak to Luke and see he was well and gather supplies for her trip, but she needed to leave soon. To get AJ back before the winter was not an easy task or a forgiving time frame.</p><p>The García men stood by the gate to say their goodbyes. David spoke no words at all, but his presence said so much. Clementine and Javier shared a nod, their comradery and respect for one another had become immeasurable in the short time their paths had crossed. For Gabe, she surprised with a hug.</p><p>It was Luke who she last said goodbye to. She leaned down to him in his wheelchair, and pulled him close while being as gentle as she could, and they embraced as they shared their parting words.</p><p>“Come back for me?” The man asked, his arms around her.</p><p>“I’ll always come back for you.” She pulled away. “Remember?”</p><p>With that, she walked off into another sunset. This time with a map, a destination, and a place to go back to. Someone to go back to, someone to come back with. She left with her heart hopeful and her head high, through everything that had happened and all of her hardship, she had kept it above the deep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>...and that's it! hope y'all enjoyed, please let me know. you really have no idea what comments mean to writers, even if something silly.</p><p>it was nice to actually finish a project like this, maybe i'll get motivation to finish my novel?? if you're into slowburn queer adventure yearning romance in a fantastical setting with commentary on roman imperialism and trauma lmk because that's what it is. jolly good <del>pain</del> fun.</p><p>so here's some of the things i changed from canon:<br/>- in the canon it doesn't matter if you save ava or tripp, since they both die on the highway. i thought that was bullshit so i made it so ava lived anyway. if you picked tripp, he would live too.<br/>- in the canon eleanor and joan are not related. that was a cut storyline, but i thought that it was more dramatic and made eleanor's betrayal make more sense.<br/>- if you helped lingard commit suicide, then luke would die of an infection in the hospital. so yeah don't kill lingard lol.<br/>- all the original endings of ANF exist, but with the luke au all endings would either have him stay at richmond due to his injuries or he died.<br/>- luke goes with kate to save richmond in all endings, but if javi does too then the player can see what happened. luke somehow got knocked over or avoided a bullet and fell off the bulldozer, hitting his head on the street and passing out. kate slightly drove over his leg before stopping. she got out of the bulldozer, but before she could help him or get him out was chased around by walkers and determinately got bit (it depends on if javier could help her). if javi was there he'd try to help luke, but then have to put kate down before she turned (if she got bit). she and javier can confess to each other again and share a last kiss or not.</p>
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